« The vast majority of the world’s agricultural land is used to raise livestock for meat and dairy. »
Almost half (44%) of the world’s habitable land is used for agriculture.1 In total it is an area of 48 million square kilometers (km2). That’s around five times the size of the United States.2
Croplands make up one-third of agricultural land, and grazing land makes up the remaining two-thirds.https://ourworldindata.org/global-land-for-agriculture
However, only half of the world’s croplands are used to grow crops that are consumed by humans directly. We use a lot of land to grow crops for biofuels and other industrial products, and an even bigger share is used to feed livestock.4
If we combine global grazing land with the amount of cropland used for animal feed, livestock accounts for 80% of agricultural land use. The vast majority of the world’s agricultural land is used to raise livestock for meat and dairy.https://ourworldindata.org/global-land-for-agriculture
Crops for humans account for 16%. And non-food crops for biofuels and textiles come to 4%.5
Despite the vast amount of land used for livestock animals, they contribute quite a small share of the global calorie and protein supply. Meat, dairy, and farmed fish provide just 17% of the world’s calories, and 38% of its protein.6