Cattle is grown for its meat and milk.

Most people on the planet use animal products as food. These animal products include meat, fish, milk, eggs and shellfish. Some of these products are gathered from the wild through hunting and fishing, but the majority is produced through farming.

Livestock consume large amounts of cultivated crops. For example, most of the world's corn production ends up as food for farm animals.

The most common species of livestock include chickens, cattle, sheep, and pigs. China, Brazil, India and the United States are the most significant nations in terms of livestock production. Australia and New Zealand are among the most important producers of sheep products.


Australia is one of the most significant producers of sheep products.

The use of animals as food is subject to many ethical questions. As a result, different religions have different restrictions when it comes to using animals as food. In Islam, for example, eating pork is prohibited completely. In some religions, such as Islam and Judaism, the animal must also be slaughtered in a specific way for it to be suitable to for human consumption. Members of some Buddhist and Hindu sects do not meat at all. 

One of the fastest growing forms of food productions is tank farming. In tank farming, animals and plants are farmed in water tanks, often in the sea. This method is used to farm fish, shellfish and seaweed. 


Tank farming is a rapidly growing method of food production. Fish farming in Nauvo, Finland.​