If you’re one of the more than 13,100 concerned global citizens who have already pledged to take extinction off their plates,
you’re no doubt already aware of both the devastating impact that the
livestock industry is having on wildlife, and the recent campaign to
reduce these effects by lessening meat consumption. But for those who
aren’t quite up to speed, allow us to explain:
The Center of Biological Diversity recently launched a new campaign
to convince the planet to reduce its meat consumption by at least
one-third. One key component of the campaign is to shine a spotlight on
the damage that our cheeseburger-obsessed culture has on wildlife.
“From wolves to elk to prairie dogs, wild animals pay the price of
meat production,” the campaign’s website explains. “Some are killed
because they prey on cows; others die en masse to make room for
agricultural operations; still more are put in harm’s way by pollution
and greenhouse gas emissions that exacerbate climate change.”
All told, more than 175 species are threatened, endangered, or
imperiled by livestock on federal lands in the United States alone.
Livestock grazing—which is protected and subsidized on 270 million acres
of public land—is among the greatest direct threats to imperiled
species, according to the CBD.
The California grizzly bear was driven extinct nearly one hundred
years ago by hunters hired by farmers and ranchers; the Mexican gray
wolf was also nearly wiped out by ranchers, and is now the most
endangered wolf species in the world.
The CBD’s efforts have successfully landed the topic in a number of national news outlets. An NPR article highlighting the campaign included a recent study
linking the growing global demand for meat to the shrinking populations
of the planet’s 31 largest carnivorous mammals. The piece also points
out the livestock industry’s increasingly disturbing contributions to troubling ecological trends like water pollution, excessive waste, and greenhouse gas emissions.
The NPR article ends with a call for Meatless Mondays.
Technically, that’s only reducing meat consumption by one-seventh, not
the one-third that the Keep Extinction Off Your Plate movement aims for.
But hey, when it comes to saving 175 endangered wildlife species, we’ll
take what we can get!
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