Wildlife Biomass

It is far more sensible to invest in sustainable projects such as species-rich, healthy, and well-connected hunting-free organic natural landscapes, especially in our densely populated cultural landscape.

Editorial Team Wild beim Wild — 30 June 2020

The term biomass refers to the material mass of living organisms or their body parts.

In ecology, biomass is often measured only for selected, spatially well-defined ecosystems or only for specific individual populations. Occasionally, there are also attempts to estimate the biomass of the entire ecosphere.

97% humans and livestock, only 3% wildlife

Impressive figures on the biomass of all land vertebrates come from the WSPA. The biomass of all livestock (such as cattle, horses, pigs, chickens, etc.) is calculated at 65%. Add to this humanity's share of 32%. In contrast, the biomass of all wild animals (from elephants to hazel dormice) accounts for just 3%. This means that humans and their livestock — most of which are raised under conditions of animal cruelty — outnumber all wildlife on the continents by a ratio of 97% to 3%! A disproportion without equal, which should give us pause for thought.

Feeding a growing world population while simultaneously preserving forests — without new deforestation — is possible, provided people consume less meat. The more meat people eat, the harder it becomes to preserve forest areas and wildlife habitats. However, if one indulges in the luxury of feeding animals on agricultural products that humans could eat themselves, the advantages of livestock farming are lost and the destruction of the earth inevitably advances. Regarding cultivation intensity, researchers calculated in a study that a predominantly vegetarian or vegan lifestyle would allow a growing world population to be fed even through more extensive forms of agriculture, such as organic farming, without encroaching on forested areas.

Livestock farmers are producing massive animal populations. At the same time, the number of wild mammals is declining. The result: over 90% of all mammals live only to be slaughtered. Species extinction is advancing dramatically.

Over 80 percent of all living organisms on Earth are plants, followed by bacteria at 12 percent and fungi at 2 percent. Animals and humans account for approximately 0.5 percent, of which around 50% are arthropods — that is, insects, arachnids, or centipedes.

Industrial agriculture as enemy of biodiversity No. 1

European agriculture is also extremely over-subsidised and has taken on dangerous industrial proportions. This form of agriculture is the number one enemy of biodiversity, second only to the sect known as “hobby hunters.”

Sekte: Die Hobby-Jäger

Far more is produced than consumers can absorb. Every third loaf of bread ends up in the bin. Similarly, one third of all food produced worldwide is lost. The value of this wasted food equals Switzerland's gross domestic product, said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva. This loss costs the global economy 570 billion euros every year.

The waste begins in the fields. Potatoes, carrots, and cabbages are left lying in the fields by the hundredweight. Only what meets commercial grade standards is taken. In the worst cases, up to 50% is rejected.

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