Jonny Rogers reports on an alarming study that shows how global agriculture is driving thousands of species towards extinction, and how we can change our habits to help.
Photo by Reka Biro-Horvath
Animal species are becoming extinct at a higher rate than any point in the past 10 million years; and, of the 28 thousand species currently at risk of extinction, agriculture alone poses the biggest threat to the survival of 24 thousand (or 86%), according to a new report from Chatham House.
Whilst policies and economic structures have promised a greater variety of food at lower costs to consumers, this has resulted in an increased dependence on fertilisers and pesticides (which are toxic to ingest) and excessive use of energy, land and water. With the global population rising at an exponential rate, more people have come to expect cheaper food, which thereby increases the demand for unsustainable agriculture and lowers the standard of produce.
Intensified agricultural production degrades soils and ecosystems, while practices such as monocropping or heavy tilling destroys wildlife habitats. Furthermore, taking into account the systems of production, transportation, storage and distribution used, the global food system is responsible for at least a quarter of our greenhouse gas emissions, rendering it one of the most significant contributors to climate change.
Waste, Obesity and Malnutrition
According to another report from the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization, we produce more food than we need, and as much as a third of this (or 1.3 billion tons) is lost, wasted or thrown away. At the same time, a report from 2020 claimed that around 750 million (or 10 percent of the world’s population) was exposed to severe levels of food insecurity, while 2 billion did not have regular access to ‘safe, nutritious and sufficient’ food.
Continuing at the current rate, the number of people affected by hunger will surpass 840 million people by 2030, even without taking into consideration the impact of Covid-19 – this alone could add over 100 million to the total number of undernourished individuals. In December, the international charity UNICEF was called to support projects to feed children in the UK for the first time in its 74-year history.
Simultaneously, we have been hit by another epidemic: obesity. Nearly a third of Britons are now obese, having doubled since the beginning of the 21st century, though the responsibility can’t be placed entirely on consumers. Our food environment, as Caroline Cerny of the Obesity Health Alliance says, has “become increasingly flooded with calorific and sugary processed food” over the past 20 years, while countless money is poured into advertising for processed snacks, fast food chains and takeaways. Globally, obesity affects both developed and developing countries, with an estimated 115 million people suffering from obesity-related issues (diseases, diabetes, cancers, and stroke).
Tim Benton, Professor of population ecology at the University of Leeds, explained to The Guardian:
“Whether you look at it from a human health, environmental or climate perspective, our food system is currently unsustainable and given the challenges that will come from a rising global population that is a really [serious] thing to say.”
Towards a New Agricultural Reformation
While some of the damage already caused by human agriculture is inevitably irreversible, the report from Chatham House has proposed a three-point reformation of the global food system:
1. Shifting towards more plant-heavy diets
The report states that animal farming is disproportionately responsible for biodiversity loss due to the large areas of land required to raise livestock, as well as the resources grown to feed them. For those who do not want to give up animal products entirely, the issue is not a matter of all-or-nothing: at the very least, meat-lovers might start by refusing to purchase any meat or dairy products which do not provide any considerable nutritional value (such as fast food or snacks), or trying to go for a few days each week without consuming animal products. Coupled with a reduction of food waste, prioritising plant-based products will reduce pressure on resources, benefit the dietary health of populations around the world and help reduce the risk of more pandemics.
2. Protecting more land
The protection of land from agricultural conversion or exploitation will preserve global biodiversity, while efforts to restore native ecosystems can bring back species and change landscapes. Although some of these changes can only come about through government policies, consumers nonetheless have the responsibility to create demand for more sustainable systems of production; a greater demand for plant-based diets, for example, will minimise the land required to raise livestock.
3. Adopting more sustainable farming techniques
For as long as there is civilisation, there will also be farming. However, some methods of farming are more conducive to maintaining biodiversity than others; the report suggests for example, replacing monoculture (one crop grown in a specific area) with polyculture (multiple different crops grown in the same area). Whilst monoculture is less efficient for farmers, polyculture is ultimately more regenerative and sustainable, better resembling the diversity of animals and plants found in natural environments.
Concluding Comments
Given the scale of damage caused by our current agricultural systems – to other species, to our environment and to ourselves – we are in need of a radical reformation in how we think about food. For all the changes that the coronavirus pandemic has brought about, and all that it has taken away from us, perhaps it will finally push governments and citizens alike to reconsider how we might all create a more just, healthy and sustainable future.
As Philip Lymbery, the Global Chief Executive at Compassion in World Farming, concluded:
“The future of humanity depends on us living in harmony with nature [...] Never has it been so timely for us to realise that protecting people means protecting animals too. The future of farming must be nature-friendly and regenerative, and our diets must become more plant-based, healthy and sustainable. Without ending factory farming, we are in danger of having no future at all.”
Article on a similar topic: The Future of Sustainable Farming in Post-Brexit Britain
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