Imbalances in Land Use: The value of ecosystems is immense (1). Biodiversity is the most complex feature of our planet and the most vital. “Without biodiversity, there is no future for humanity,” says Prof David Macdonald, Oxford University, as reported by The Guardian, March 2018 (2). The U.N. 2022 Land Report states ​​food systems are responsible for 80% of deforestation, 29% of greenhouse gas emissions and are the single largest cause of biodiversity loss on land (3). Livestock accounts for 77% of global farming land for feed crops and keeping animals (4). Oftentimes forests and wildlife habitats are repurposed for these means, creating substantial land opportunity costs (5). Land grabs threaten indigenous land guardianship (6), while industrial farming methodologies corrupt land health and food opportunities in developing countries (7). Forests are home to more than three-quarters of the world’s life on land (8), and play a critical role in mitigating climate change (9). The biggest direct driver of wildlife decline globally is the conversion of natural forests and grasslands into intensive agriculture and livestock (10). Yet only 55% of crop calories are actually consumed by people (11).

Fertilizers for AG Crops: In the early 1900s, farming practices turned to mono crops, and with the development of synthetic fertilizers, the industrialization of commodity crops and intensive animal agriculture led to soil degradation (12). The nitrogen and phosphorus concentration from fertilizers and livestock manure has overwhelmed the soil microbiome and resulted in stream bed pollution (13-14). While the long term use of synthetic and manure fertilizers combined with heavy machinery has resulted in the drying of the soil which has led to an increase in flooding, further washing away topsoil (15). Nitrates and harmful bacteria from animal waste and chemical waste from large scale animal facilities has infiltrated above and below groundwater (16) and gradually sifted into underground aquifers (17).

Insecticides, Herbicides, and Pesticides in AG: The use of insecticides (including bee-killing neonicotinoids) (18), has led to statistically significant reductions in bird biodiversity (19). These chemicals affect many species beyond those targeted through bioaccumulation or biomagnification, where persistent chemical ingestion over time or through the food chain reaches toxic levels. Wildlife may also be indirectly affected through deprivation of their primary food source, leading to a break-down of ecosystems (20). Some insecticides, such as herbicides, degrade quite slowly in nature, causing an accumulation in the soil and the environment, and increase the chances of accumulation and intensive affects (21).

Sustainable Food Systems: The 2018 IPCC report recommends that in western countries, beef consumption needs to fall by 90% and be replaced by five times more beans and pulses (22). While 27% of land is used for animal agriculture including feed crops, only 7% is used for food crops that are not animal feed (23). Mono crops are not conducive to good soil health, and 300 million farmed acres are planted with corn and soy. Nearly 47 percent of soybeans and 60 percent of corn grown in the United States go to feed livestock (24).

Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora: Even for medicinal purposes, the legal and illegal wildlife trade, exotic pet trade, plant horticulture trade, can have severe consequences on fragile ecosystems, with at least 100 million plants and animals trafficked internationally each year (25). Ecological diversity is essential for providing clean water, clean air, and nutrient rich soil, all of which are basic life sustaining resources (26).

Eradication of Wildlife Predators and Recreational Hunting: More than three-quarters of the 31 species of large land predators, such as lions and wolves, are in decline. This has a cascading effect, disrupting vegetation growth and upsetting populations of birds and small mammals (27). Predators can be singled out unfairly by animal agriculture (28), while other animals also get caught in traps, and the young left behind often don’t survive. The USDA department of Wildlife Services killed 1.75 million wild animals in 2021 in the interest of animal agriculture. Most were native wild animals, as well as some accidental killings of domestic animals (29). The decline of ecosystems lacking efficient numbers of wild predators has been well documented (30). Thus, in the interest of rewilding in order to encourage carbon uptake and improve biodiversity, scientists have offered a plan to reinstate wolves and beavers in the federal lands of the American Midwest (31).

The negative effects of Trophy or Recreational hunting are far-reaching (32). Trophy hunting is promoted by those who profit from it the most (33), including gun and hunting organizations (34-35), and poachers that are often based in places that lack local community control (36). The bulk of revenue from these exploits does not serve the local communities, nor does it help environmental conservation (37). These practices have caused environmental issues and biodiversity loss within important ecosystems (38). Two additional issues of sport hunting are canned trophy hunting, which is the unregulated practice of breeding and hunting animals in enclosures (39), and hunting killing contests, which are promoted as “pest control” measures and provide monetary rewards for the hunters with the highest number of kills (40).

Wild Habitat Exploitation: We must consider in great detail the adverse effects of exploitation of wildlife habitat. Loss of habitat has far-reaching impacts on the planet’s ability to sustain life (41). Since 1900, human production development has grown by 30 gigatons per year, until in 2020 human-made mass became much higher than nature’s biomass at a weight of about 1.1 teratones (more than the overall global biomass, and that’s not including our waste) (42). Through mining, deforestation, water pollution, airborne pollution, and infrastructure development, human encroachment has influenced the earth’s natural systems and so threatens the entire biosphere (43). In environmental ecosystem cycles, it is just as important to remember the vital role of insects (44), birds, and mammals. In our reliance on having clean water and growing food, we often think of bees first, however large mammals and even predators are essential to our survival (45).

Download the document below to read the full list of the latest citations of evidence as to how animal exploitation undermines the progress of SDG Goal 15: Life On Land