Meat eaters ‘are destroying the planet’, claims World Wildlife Fund

Meat eaters are devastating our planet with their diet, due to the huge amount of farmland required to produce feed for animals, a new report has claimed.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) says that the Western diet, with high levels of meat and dairy, is responsible for extinctions and biodiversity loss around the world.

The WWF claims that 60% of all biodiversity loss worldwide is linked to the huge amount of feed such as soy, which animals require.

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The WWF says in its Appetite for Destruction report that a land area 1.5 times the size of the European Union could be reclaimed if people switched to a diet less reliant on animal products.

‘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 per cent 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.’

‘For people and nature to thrive we need to consume and produce food differently. If we just stuck to the nutritionally recommended amount of protein, rather than overconsuming, an area 1.5 times the size of the European Union would be saved from agricultural production. Eating less animal protein would allow us to farm in a more sustainable way, with less impact on the environment and healthier and more nutritious food.’