October 16, 2017

WWF: Rise of feed crop cultivation impact land and species

A study by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) found that extensive growing of feed crops to rear livestock, such as chickens and pigs, is draining natural resources, and causing massive losses of land and species.

According to the research titled "Appetite for Destruction" which was launched at the 2017 Extinction and Livestock Conference in London, UK, huge amount of land is required to cultivate feed crops, thus threatening vulnerable regions like the Amazon, Congo Basin and the Himalayas.

Furthermore, it is claimed that large-scale industrial animal farming has led to less nutritious food, with six intensively reared chickens said to have similar levels of omega-3 as found in one chickens in the 1970s.

The WWF study came as troubling revelations of industrial farming are disclosed. The Guardian reported that the British livestock industry needed an area the size of Yorkshire to produce soy for feed use in 2010. Protein-rich soy is currently produced in such big quantities that the average European consumes about 61kg yearly - mostly indirectly through eating animal products including chicken, pork, salmon, cheese, milk and eggs.

Additionally, the biggest user of crop-based feed worldwide is poultry. The second largest, with 30% of the world's feed in 2009, is the pig industry.

If global demand for meat continues to increase, soy production would escalate by close to 80% by 2050, the study stated.

"The world is consuming more animal protein than it needs and this is having a devastating effect on wildlife," said Duncan Williamson, WWF food policy manager.

"A staggering 60% of global biodiversity loss is down to the food we eat. We know a lot of people are aware that a meat-based diet has an impact on water and land, as well as causing greenhouse gas emissions, but few know the biggest issue of all comes from the crop-based feed the animals eat."

- The Guardian