How This Works
This counter estimates the number of animal lives saved so far this year, based on US human death statistics. This calculation assumes that each human death results in reduced environmental impact and resource consumption, thereby "saving" animal lives that would otherwise be lost to consumption (exclusive of habitat destruction, pollution, and other human-caused factors).
Source: CDC National Center for Health Statistics (2023)
Perspectives
"The greatest service some can do for the planet is to leave it."
"Human death is the ultimate act of environmental conservation."
"Death is not always a tragedy; sometimes it's a blessing for the world."
"Human death is the planet's natural defense mechanism."
"The world benefits from natural human mortality."
Questions and Answers
The United States Department of Agriculture reports that 9.76 billion land animals were slaughtered in 2020:
- Chickens: 9,346,660,000
- Turkeys: 223,003,000
- Cattle (incl. calves): 33,242,000
- Pigs: 131,563,000
- Ducks: 22,484,000
- Sheep (incl. lambs): 2,225,000
Accounting for U.S. animal meat imports and exports, 8.2 billion land animals were killed to support the U.S. food supply:
- Chickens: 7,835,037,000
- Turkeys: 201,638,000
- Cattle (incl. calves): 33,714,000
- Pigs: 101,916,000
- Ducks: 22,484,000
- Sheep (incl. lambs): 6,768,000
Adjusting for pre-slaughter farmed animal mortality rates, industrial farming claimed the lives of 8.53 billion land animals in 2020 to support the U.S. food supply:
- Chickens: 8,127,632,000
- Turkeys: 214,509,000
- Cattle (incl. calves): 36,164,000
- Pigs: 124,061,000
- Ducks: 23,275,000
- Sheep (incl. lambs): 7,499,000
Aquatic animal deaths are challenging to calculate since these lives are measured in tons. A very thorough analysis completed by Counting Animals estimated that 3.8 billion finned fish and 43.1 billion shellfish were killed to support the U.S. food supply in 2013. Total U.S. fish landings remained flat at these levels at least through 2018.
Taken together, more than 55 billion land and sea animals die annually to support the U.S. food supply. Adding in bycatch (sea creatures caught and discarded--injured or dead) and feed fish, the total number jumps substantially.
To put this in perspective, during World War II--the deadliest conflict in human history--more than 60 million people were killed over 6 years. The same number of animals die in support of the American food supply every ten hours.
Land animals only (USDA 2020 slaughter + imports - exports + pre-slaughter deaths):
- Every year: 8,533,141,000
- Every day: 23,378,000
- Every hour: 974,100
- Every minute: 16,234
- Every second: 271
Inclusive of land and aquatic animals:
- Every year: 55,429,141,000
- Every day: 151,888,000
- Every hour: 6,328,000
- Every minute: 105,480
- Every second: 1,758
The counter uses the estimated number of US human deaths per year and multiplies it by a set number of animal lives saved per human death. The data for annual mortality may be a few years old. The calculation is updated in real time and resets to 0 every January 1st.
The counter is designed to show the impact within the current calendar year, making it easy to see the annual effect of human deaths on animal lives theoretically spared.
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U.S. Land Animal Slaughter (2020):
Livestock Slaughter: 2020 Summary (Apr 2021)
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
Poultry Slaughter: 2020 Summary (Feb 2021)
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service -
International Trade Data (2020):
Livestock and Meat International Trade Data (Meat Data)
USDA Economic Research Service -
Farmed Animal Mortality Rates:
Animal Welfare Data (multiple years)
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service -
Fish and Crustacean Estimates (2013):
How Many Animals Does a Vegetarian Save (Table 4)
Counting Animals
Worse Things Happen at Sea (2010) (fish weights)
FishCount
Yes! This project is open for educational and non-commercial use. Please credit the original sources and this site if you reuse the code or concept.