This is a map of the world’s agricultural regions, coloured according to how much of the calories produced go to people and how much goes to feeding animals or producing biofuels.
Looking at the map, we can see the amount of animal feed grown in Europe or in the American heartlands. (40% of American corn goes to biofuels, 36% to animals, and most of the remainder is consumed as corn syrup.) We can see the soy plantations in Brazil. Africa, by contrast, grows much more of what it eats. Diets are changing in India, but it still eats less meat per head than anywhere else in the world and its crops reflect that.
Taken together, 55% of the world’s food is eaten directly by people. 36% goes to animals, and 9% to biofuels.
— source makewealthhistory.org