What's the Net Effect of Biodiversity Loss?

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Biodiversity is a buzzword, but I'm not sure that we fully appreciate what it means and what the net effect of biodiversity loss is. By far, the biggest impact of that is agricultural expansion. And more specifically, what expands agricultural land is animal source foods,. The huge amount of land used to grow feed crops, mostly for confined animals.

In Episode #230, I’m joined by ecologist Nicholas Carter to examine the role of dairy and other animal foods on the environment. We discuss the implications of our food choices, detailing the impact of dairy specifically. Nicholas Carter breaks down the ways we measure environmental impact, and the strengths and shortfalls of these systems. We also cover “carbon neutral” dairy, regenerative grazing, biodiversity loss, and much more.

Over the course of recent episodes, we’ve worked towards building a more comprehensive picture of the topics covered. Alongside some incredible guests, we’ve covered the theory, mechanisms, and implementation of exercise, and this episode we continue building out this broader view with dairy. In Episode #225, Dr Alan Flanagan honed in on the health implications of dairy. Today, I sit down with Nicholas Carter to examine the planetary effects of dairy production and consumption, helping you make more informed decisions in support of sustainability.

Specifically, we discuss:

Intro (0:00)
What Causes Climate Change (2:22)
Agriculture Today vs in the Past (7:06)
Biodiversity Loss (11:28)
Incentives for Sustainability (17:26)
Cattle Grazing & Wildfires (25:15)
Red Meat & Dairy (28:40)
Global Dairy Production (30:55)
Myths about Regenerative Agriculture (36:03)
Comparing Sheep/Cow Milk (45:46)
‘Carbon Neutral’ Dairy (47:35)
Milk Substitutions (58:50)
Precision Fermentation (1:06:36)
Diet for Planetary Health (1:10:22)
Future of Food (1:16:23)
Outro (1:22:12)

To connect with or reach out to Nicholas Carter, you can find him on Twitter and Instagram. For more information on environmental welfare, find an abundance of resources and summaries of the most reputable research on Nicholas’ website, https://www.plantbaseddata.org/. Listen to Episode #225 with Alan Flanagan to learn about the human health aspect of dairy consumption.

There are dozens of studies and additional resources to support this episode. Find them in the full show notes, at https://theproof.com/podcast/.

Enjoy, friends.

Simon

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Simon Hill, Msc, Bsc (Hons)

Creator of TheProof.com and host of The Proof with Simon Hill

Author of The Proof is in the Plants

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