A 2021 report by suppose tank Chatham Home named agriculture a menace to 85 p.c of the 28,000 species at risk of extinction at the moment. In the present day, the full has skyrocketed to 44,000 species dealing with extinction—and nearly 7,000 are at quick danger from local weather change, which is worsened by animal farming.
Alarmingly, a 2016 report revealed in Nature had already named agriculture a extra vital hazard than local weather change to nearly 75 p.c of the world’s threatened species, together with the African cheetah.
There’s hope, although. By selecting a plant-based weight-reduction plan, one may also help to ease strain on our overfished oceans, oppose the air pollution brought on by manufacturing unit farms, combat the lack of forest habitats and different land (see extra under), and extra.
The Chatham Home report urged a world shift to “diets based mostly extra on vegetation” in response “to the disproportionate impression of animal farming on biodiversity” and different environmental harms.
