Well, I am a veggie :o but have no problem with non-veggies who'd be prepared to kill & butcher their critters of choice.
Uly got my point straight off the bat. In terms of nutritional density (including protein) crops are far better than livestock. As things stand this land use can be supported but should food riots become a daily occurence then this could be one solution. It's more likely that military spending would just be increased to protect the "haves" from the "have nots" :(
Krn's reaction was interesting though. Meat was historically a luxury foodstuff. The gentry could have it on a regular basis but it was only an occasional treat for those lower down the social scale. At which point did it become a right to have meat at least once a day? Of course the meat-eating classes had improved life expectancy but they also had better accommodation, sanitation and an easier lifestyle in general. Could it be that meat=healthy is a proto-urban myth that resulted from these times? We now have nutritionally viable alternatives to meat eating, so why not give this whole "progress" thing a go? :p
Now this is scary. I don't think the destruction of foods represents a world food surplus but just another triumph of capitalism over common sense. Growing then destroying food when there is so much global hunger is a particularly obscene display of western decadence.