ABSTRACT
We are often not aware of, or choose to ignore, the great influence we have on the environment simply by deciding what we put on our plates each day. Conservationists who devote their time and efforts to saving rare species and habitats are often guilty of not seeing the wood for the trees. By far the dominant land use practice the world over is the production of livestock, pasture and feed crops, covering nearly a third of the terrestrial surface of the planet.
From tropical rainforests and grasslands to upland areas, huge ecosystem damage and biodiversity loss is caused by our insatiable appetite for meat, which for the most part is a luxury rather than a requirement. When conservationists and environmental organisations should be highlighting the immense destruction and grave consequences caused by this one simple dietary choice, collectively they are largely conspicuous by their silence. Why?
