Evaluation of economic efficiency of plant based agriculture

Daniyar Karatay

Bachelor's thesis

Abstract:

According to the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) study from 2010, there are an estimated of 1.53 billion people worldwide living primarily on a vegetarian diet, 1.45 billion of which are vegetarians of necessity and another 75 million are those of choice. Some studies suggest a much higher number of the latter, and the trend holds—regardless of whether the motivation of those choosing a vegetarian diet over a meat-based one has to do with their concern for animal welfare, environment, religion or health, the increased acceptance of vegetarianism as a lifestyle choice is undeniable. In addition, global dependency on fossil energy has reached its all-time peak over the past decade, with Western, first-world countries using an average of 15% of the fossil energy produced in a country for food production, along with as much as 50% of the total land area and 80% of fresh water as in the example with the U.S. Researchers’ concern of environmental degradation and the apparent rising popularity of vegetarianism call for a transition to an entirely new socio-economic paradigm of food production. However, the prospective economic effect of switching to a plant-based agriculture is unclear due to lack of research on the topic. The following thesis aims to analyze the economic and environmental efficiency of transitioning to a plant-based agriculture and addresses a question of whether there is an intercorrelation among vegetarianism, environmental sustainability, and economic prosperity. Based on the analysis of cost efficiency and comparative analysis of environmental implications this thesis aims to prove overall necessity for transitioning to a plant-based agriculture.

Keywords

agriculture, economic efficiency, plant-based, animal farming, livestock, vegetarianism, nutritional value, cost efficiency, environment, greenhouse gas, water footprint, deforestation

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 28. 11. 2019

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: Ing. Jiří Mach, Ph.D.

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Economics and Management

Bachelor programme / field:
Economics Policy and Administration / Business Administration