Bird extinctions 'driven' by global food trade
About 100 bird species are predicted to go extinct based on current farming and forestry practices, according to a new global analysis.
This number has increased by 7% over the first ten years of this century alone, say scientists.
They say the biggest factor is cattle farming, but the impact of oil seed crops like palm and soy is growing fast.
By comparison, an estimated 140 birds have been lost over the past 400 years.
International researchers used bird extinction as a measure of the loss of biodiversity - the variety of plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat - linked with international trade in food and timber....
....
The issue of biodiversity loss cannot be addressed without adding remote responsibility, i.e. people taking responsibility for the goods they buy at the supermarket, said co-researcher, Prof Henrique Pereira of the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) in Leipzig, Germany.
"We have to provide more information for consumers on that - so that they know what they are buying," he told BBC News.
Co-researcher Alexandra Marques added: "We must address unsustainable patterns of consumption driven by economic growth. Our choices here will have consequences elsewhere."
______________________________________________
Who cares as long as we can blame it on global warming instead of actually having to address our own individual contributions to animal extinction.
About 100 bird species are predicted to go extinct based on current farming and forestry practices, according to a new global analysis.
This number has increased by 7% over the first ten years of this century alone, say scientists.
They say the biggest factor is cattle farming, but the impact of oil seed crops like palm and soy is growing fast.
By comparison, an estimated 140 birds have been lost over the past 400 years.
International researchers used bird extinction as a measure of the loss of biodiversity - the variety of plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat - linked with international trade in food and timber....
....
The issue of biodiversity loss cannot be addressed without adding remote responsibility, i.e. people taking responsibility for the goods they buy at the supermarket, said co-researcher, Prof Henrique Pereira of the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) in Leipzig, Germany.
"We have to provide more information for consumers on that - so that they know what they are buying," he told BBC News.
Co-researcher Alexandra Marques added: "We must address unsustainable patterns of consumption driven by economic growth. Our choices here will have consequences elsewhere."
______________________________________________
Who cares as long as we can blame it on global warming instead of actually having to address our own individual contributions to animal extinction.
