Biodiversity Loss
Humans have caused the sixth great mass extinction
“Human alteration of the global environment has triggered the sixth major extinction event in the history of life and caused widespread changes in the global distribution of organisms. These changes in biodiversity alter ecosystem processes and change the resilience of ecosystems to environmental change. This has profound consequences”
Nature Journal, 2000

Biodiversity extinction happening 1000x faster than normal, if we don’t stop it we risk losing everything
“Plants and animals are now disappearing at up to 1,000 times the natural background rate of extinction, with vital life-supporting ecosystems that could soon be irreversibly damaged. And then we have global warming, even with the strictest greenhouse gas emission limits, the Earth’s temperature is still expected to rise another 3.5°C within a few decades, which would result in the death of the Amazon rainforest, massive hurricanes smashing coastal cities, vast runaway release of methane from melting permafrost, and ultimately, mass extinctions… If these six factors are not stopped fast, we risk losing everything”
Nature Journal, 2005
“Humans are responsible for so many species dying out that we are now in the midst of a sixth mass extinction”
The Telegraph, 2015
Global wildlife has been halved since 1970
“Wildlife populations have been cut in half over the past four decades… The number of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish on Earth dropped by 52% from 1970 to 2010”
Live Science, 2014
90% OF FISH GONE
“Overfishing has wiped out 90% of big fish, since the 1950’s”
National Geographic, 2003
“The accelerating loss of biodiversity poses a fundamental threat to the survival of humankind”
International Union for the Conservation of Nature, 2013
70% of plants endangered
“70% of plants are endangered or critically endangered”
BBC, 2009
30% OF FORESTS GONE
“30% of global forest cover has been cleared, while another 20% has been degraded”
World Resources Institute, 2015
50% OF WETLANDS GONE
“Since 1900 over half of wetlands worldwide have disappeared”
Institute for European Environmental Policy, 2008

70% of coral degraded
“70% of coral reefs are projected to suffer from degradation by 2030 without a dramatic change in how much carbon we emit”
Smithsonian Magazine, 2012
35% of mangroves gone
“More than 35% of the world’s mangroves are already gone. The figure is as high as 50% in countries such as India, the Philippines, and Vietnam, while in the Americas they are being cleared at a rate faster than tropical rainforests”
WWF, 2015
Livestock production is the greatest threat to Biodiversity
“The livestock sector may well be the leading player in the reduction of biodiversity, since it is the major cause of deforestation, as well as one of the leading drivers of land-degradation, pollution, climate change, overfishing, sedimentation of coastal areas and facilitation of invasions by alien species”
UNFAO, Livestock’s Long Shadow, UN Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO), 2006

Meat consumption has doubled since 1970
“Meat consumption has doubled since 1970”
Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, Planbureau Voor Der Leefomgeving (PBL), 2009
Agriculture is changing the face of the earth
“Humans have transformed 40% to 50% of the ice-free land surface, changing prairies, forests and wetlands into agricultural and urban systems”
Nature Journal, 2000
80% of agricultural land is for meat and dairy
“80% of agricultural area is currently devoted to meat and dairy production”
Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, Planbureau Voor Der Leefomgeving (PBL), 2009

Meat is the biggest threat to wildlife
“Diets rich in beef and other red meat can be bad for a person’s health. And equally [as] bad for Earth’s biodiversity… human carnivory, and its impact on land use is the single biggest threat to much of the world’s flora and fauna”
Science Magazine, 2015
Agricultural water mismanagement is destroying ecosystems
“The way that water is managed in agriculture has caused wide-scale changes in ecosystems and undermined the provision of a wide range of ecosystem services. The external cost of the damage to people and ecosystems, and clean-up processes, from the agricultural sector is significant. In the United States of America the estimated cost is US$9 to US$20 billion per year”
United Nations, 2014

Cattle are responsible for 80% of amazon deforestation
“Cattle ranching is the number one culprit of deforestation in virtually every Amazon country, and it accounts for 80% of current deforestation”
United Nations, 2014
90% Of fish gone
“Overfishing has wiped out 90% of big fish, since the 1950’s”
National Geographic, 2003
Overgrazing causes desertification
“The major causes of soil erosion / desertification are still inappropriate agricultural practices, deforestation and overgrazing”
European Commission, 1999
All life on Earth is threatened
2045
Biodiversity tipping point by 2045
“Earth’s biodiversity could reach a tipping point as early as 2045, threatening to collapse all of Earth’s ecosystems, threatening all life on earth”
Nature Journal, 2009


2050
A quarter of earth’s species extinct by 2050
“One-fourth of Earth’s species could be headed for extinction by 2050”
The Nature Conservancy, 2015
2050
Global Loss Of Ecosystem Services Will Cost 7% Of Global GDP By 2050
“The estimated annual loss in ecosystem services from the cumulative loss of biodiversity will be worth nearly €14 trillion (thousand billion) by 2050, equivalent to 7% of the global 2050 GDP”
European Commission, 2008


2050
70% of all species extinct if temperatures increase by 3.5°C
“If the global average temperature increase exceeds about 3.5°C, model projections suggest between 40% and 70% of species assessed around the globe will face extinction”
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007
2100
World on track for 5.2°C warming by 2100
“Projections published in the American Meteorological Society’s Journal of Climate indicate a median probability of surface warming of 5.2°C by 2100, with a 90% probability range of 3.5°C to 7.4°C”
Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, 2009

Plant based diet most effective to stop biodiversity loss
“A no meat diet would have the single greatest benefit, preventing the loss of 60% of biodiversity loss”
Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, 2010


Ecosystem bankruptcy
“A rescue package similar to that introduced after the global financial crisis is urgently needed to halt the worldwide loss of biodiversity, which is resulting in a heavy human cost… we are bankrupting our natural economy”
United Nations News Centre, 2010