63 Billion Animals Fed a US Population of 313 Million in 2011
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

Free From Harm
February 2013

In all, 63 billion animals died to feed the US population of 313,914,040 in 2011. Of those, 32 billion animals were slaughtered for food in the US.

As a general trend for 2011, increasing exports have made up for decreases in domestic consumption.

The figure of animals slaughtered in the US comprises only a portion of those that died here, as many do not reach the slaughterhouse.

The figure does not include animals slaughtered abroad and then shipped to the US, but does include animals slaughtered here for sale abroad. Nevertheless, they provide a picture of the slaughter industry in this country.

Following is a breakdown of 2011 slaughter statistics per species:

  • 13 billion shellfish
  • 9.6 billion fish
  • 8,537,060,000 chickens
  • 246,844,000 turkeys
  • 110,956,800 pigs
  • 35,115,000 cattle

Source: Animal Death Count


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