Restore ecosystems and biodiversity

The global food system is the biggest driver of destruction of our natural world. A research paper on food system impacts on biodiversity found agriculture is the main threat to 86% of species known to be extinct.

By halting land clearing and undertaking native planting and habitat restoration projects, we can slow the devastating effects of deforestation and work to rehabilitate the natural environment.

The research paper supported three solutions:

• Shift to a plant-based diet because cattle, sheep and other livestock have the biggest impact on the environment. (If meat and dairy consumption was replaced with a plant-based diet, global farmland use could be reduced by more than 75%.)
• Protect and set aside land for nature, whether through establishing native ecosystems on spared farmland or integrating pockets of natural habitat into farmland.
• Shift to more sustainable farming.

Source: Chatham House research paper: Food system impacts on biodiversity.