section_path: Environmental impact/Biodiversity loss
section_name: Biodiversity loss
paragraph_text: Biodiversity loss
  
  Meat consumption is a primary contributor to the sixth mass extinction. A 2017 study by the World Wildlife Fund found that 60% of global biodiversity loss is attributable to meat-based diets, in particular from the use of land for feed crops, resulting in large-scale loss of habitats and species. Livestock make up 60% of the biomass of all mammals on earth, followed by humans (36%) and wild mammals (4%). In November 2017, 15,364 world scientists signed a Warning to Humanity calling for a drastic reduction in per capita consumption of meat and "dietary shifts towards mostly plant-based foods". The 2019 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services recommended a reduction in meat consumption to mitigate biodiversity loss. A 2021 Chatham House report asserted that a shift towards plant-based diets would free up land for the restoration of ecosystems and biodiversity.
  
  Meat consumption is predicted to rise as the human population increases and becomes more affluent; this in turn would increase greenhouse gas emissions and further reduce biodiversity.