Joining the debate on ways to tackle the global food crisis, the Vegetarian Society of Singapore has called on people to stop eating meat.

Society president, Dr George Jacobs, said meat production was one of the main causes of food shortage.

In a letter to my paper's forum section earlier this week, My Say, he pointed out that land animals consumed more food than the entire human population.

"For instance, more than 10kg of plant food is required to produce just 1kg of beef," said Dr Jacobs. "Meat eating is indeed grossly wasteful of the crops we grow and of the resources required to grow these crops," he added.

Currently, 6.6 billion human beings eat more than 50 billion of land animals annually.

Adding to the overall problem were the use of water, pesticides and energy in meat production as well as the "huge quantity of waste products, including greenhouse gases, that these creatures produce during their unnatural and short lives", he said.

"Thus, a readily available way to address our current food shortages is to reduce our meat consumption or to stop eating meat entirely," said Dr Jacobs.

However, the move would still not solve the chronic food shortages in poor countries as they have to grapple with the issue of poverty first. But for those who can afford to eat meat, going vegetarian can help to alleviate the crisis.