STUDY: Demand for agricultural products pushing primates to brink of extinction

The authors of the new study suggest more must be done to limit demand via lifestyle changes, like using less oil seed and eating less meat.

BROOKS HAYS: ‘Growing global demands for food and agricultural commodities are driving deforestation across the neotropics — in Africa, as well as south and southeast Asia. New research suggests deforestation fueled by market demands is a threat to primates, as well as ecological health across the developing world. Some 60 percent of primate species face the threat of extinction, and approximately 75 percent of primate populations are in decline… According to the new paper, deforestation and habitat fragmentation lead to biodiversity losses, increased food insecurity and the spread of emerging diseases…

Between 2001 and 2015, nearly 400 million acres of forest were cleared as a result of human activities. At least half of the deforestation was fueled by commodity demands. The demands for agricultural products and other natural resources isn’t expected to dissipate anytime soon. In fact, it is expected to double by 2050. Authors of the new study suggest more must be done to limit demand via lifestyle changes, like using less oil seed and eating less meat. Researchers also suggest governments and international policy makers must do more to limit the ecological costs of commodity demands’. SOURCE…

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