We are currently witnessing wildlife loss at a rate seen only during mass extinctions. According to WWF biodiversity research, 60% of Earth’s wildlife has been wiped out in just 50 years. If this trend continues, the survival of countless species is under threat … including our own.
Why are wild plants and animals dying out?
In short, we’re doing it. And largely, it’s in the way we eat …
Across almost all categories of plants and animals, the leading cause of extinction is loss of habitat due to land clearing — and the vast majority of land clearing is to graze cattle for the beef and dairy industries, and to raise crops to feed farmed animals. Currently, almost one-third of the Earth’s surface is used for these purposes alone, with more forest land bulldozed every year.
For fish and other marine animals, the greatest extinction threat is exploitation, or in other words, fishing them to extinction.
The way we currently think about and produce ‘food’ is having a catastrophic impact on almost all plant and animal species worldwide.