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Tool reveals how your dinner affects risk of 30,875 species land-dwelling animals going extinct
https://phys.org/news/2025-10-tool-reveals-dinner-affects-species.htmlUniversity of Cambridge
University of Cambridge researchers have developed a new way to measure the impact of our food production on other species' survival around the world.
It reveals that between 700 and 1,100 species of vertebrate are likely to go extinct in the next 100 years, if global land-use for agriculture does not change. This figure does not account for future population growth, and is probably a huge underestimate.
By considering the productivity of any piece of land, the team can figure out the "per kilogram impact" of each commodity per year on biodiversity.
Some of our everyday favorite foods—like coffee, cocoa, tea and bananas—are all grown in tropical regions of the world. These have a much greater impact on species extinctions than those from temperate areas, because tropical regions are so rich in biodiversity.
The study found that eating beef and lamb has the biggest impact of all foods on species extinction—although this varies significantly depending on where the meat is produced.
. . .
It reveals that between 700 and 1,100 species of vertebrate are likely to go extinct in the next 100 years, if global land-use for agriculture does not change. This figure does not account for future population growth, and is probably a huge underestimate.
By considering the productivity of any piece of land, the team can figure out the "per kilogram impact" of each commodity per year on biodiversity.
Some of our everyday favorite foods—like coffee, cocoa, tea and bananas—are all grown in tropical regions of the world. These have a much greater impact on species extinctions than those from temperate areas, because tropical regions are so rich in biodiversity.
The study found that eating beef and lamb has the biggest impact of all foods on species extinction—although this varies significantly depending on where the meat is produced.
. . .
More information: Thomas S. Ball et al, Food impacts on species extinction risks can vary by three orders of magnitude, Nature Food (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s43016-025-01224-w
Journal information: Nature Food