Growing Demand For Meat is Resulting in an Alarming Amount of Global Biodiversity Loss - WWF

When we think of animal agriculture, we often focus on the animals who are tortured, killed, and then eaten. However, animal agriculture affects a lot more animals outside of the ones that are farmed for consumption.

Meat-based diets have a significant impact on water and land, which means that the land animals and fish living in these habitats are gravely affected as well. For example, in 2010, 53% of fisheries were completely used up, and it’s only gotten worse, partially because factory fishers inadvertently kill and discard 200 million pounds of non-target fish daily (otherwise known as bycatch). Bycatch is rarely consumed. Instead, these fish typically just get injured or die and then get thrown back into the water.

Although an overwhelming number of animals die as a result of animal agriculture, it’s not just the animals that are living on these farms who are affected. It’s the ones whose habitats are being destroyed for animal agriculture or feed crops, and the ones who die as a result of the growing demand for animal protein and dairy. To be exact, an astonishing 60% of global biodiversity loss is caused by our meat-based diets.

WWF Report “Appetite For Destruction” Finds That Animal Agriculture Is Causing Significant Biodiversity Loss

The classic Western diet consists of high meat and dairy consumption. Many of us grew up thinking that this was a well-balanced diet, but now we’re learning that this mentality was really just a marketing gimmick meant to convince us to purchase more animal products.

Not only is consuming conventional meat and dairy unhealthy for the body, it also has a grave impact on the environment. The crops grown as “feed” for livestock produce more than enough food to adequately feed the global population, and these crops have a significant impact on the environment, as they’re largely genetically modified, meaning that harsh herbicides and pesticides are used on them, including Monsanto’s Roundup (these crops include soy, corn, etc.).

Plus, the vast amount of land and water required to satisfy the average factory farm is resulting in the overconsumption of natural resources. For example, animal agriculture consumes a whopping 34-76 trillion gallons of water annually.

Author: Kalee Brown
src: http://www.collective-evolution.com/2017/10/13/wwf-report-shows-alarming-global-biodiversity-loss-is-due-to-a-growing-demand-for-meat/