They are growing food grains for the animals, and the food grains are eaten by the animals, and the animal is eaten by man. They are producing food grains.

Farming Priority: grow foods locally for human consumption

First necessity to grow food grains for humans

PRABHUPADA: Everyone is working very hard simply for sense gratification. And as soon as you take this life of sense gratification, you are sure to commit sinful activities. For example, throughout the whole world there are so many breweries manufacturing liquor. Especially in the Western countries you will find so many, the advertisement, liquor advertisement, whiskey advertisement, cigarette advertisement. And what to speak of slaughterhouse? There are many, many hundreds and thousands of slaughterhouse. And innocent animals are being killed all over the world unnecessarily. People can live with food grains. That is allowed for the all living entities. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said, annad bhavanti bhutani: [Bg. 3.14] "Simply by growing food grains, both the animals and the man, they can live very happily." And you can grow food grains very easily. I have seen in the Western countries, they are growing food grains for the animals, and the food grains are eaten by the animals, and the animal is eaten by man. They are producing food grains. What is the statistics that the animal eating food grains, the same time, the same amount food grains can be eaten by so many men?

BRAHMANANDA: The acreage... For a cow to eat requires so many acres for that one cow, and then that cow is slaughtered and it only feeds a few men, whereas that same acreage could feed hundreds of men by grains.

PRABHUPADA: Yes.

DEVOTEE: Seventeen times.

PRABHUPADA: So these things are to be noted, how they are engaged in sinful activities. And the solution is given in the Bhagavad-gita, that "Produce food grain," annad bhavanti bhutani.

So I see in your this Mauritius land, you have got enough land to produce food grains. You produce food grain. I understand that instead of growing food grains, you are growing sugar cane for exporting. Why? And you are dependent on food grains, on rice, wheat, dahl. Why? Why this attempt? You first of all grow your own eatables. And if there is time and if your population has got sufficient food grains, then you can try to grow other fruits and vegetables for exporting. The first necessity is that you should be self-sufficient. That is God's arrangement. Everywhere there is sufficient land to produce food grains, not only in your country. I have traveled all over the world—Africa, Australia, and other, in America also. There are so much land vacant that if we produce food grains, then we can feed ten times as much population as at the present moment. There is no question of scarcity. The whole creation is so made by Krishna that everything is purnam, complete. Purnam idam purnam adah purnat purnam udachyate, purnasya purnam adaya purnam evavashishyate [Ishopanishad Invocation]. If we don't produce food grain—you require it—and put unnecessarily men into scarcity, that is sinful. That is sinful. Here is everything, every instruction for our happy life and to advance in Krishna consciousness and make life perfect.