Biodiversity Loss Not Just in the Wild: Farm Loss Threatens Human Food Supply

The loss of biodiversity in the wild has been a problem for decades. Yet now, it turns out that this issue may not just extend to the wilderness. Zakri Abdul Hamid, the head of the United Nations' new Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) says that this loss of diversity is also occurring on farms.

The world is losing species at a startling rate. Amphibians, for example, are declining at a truly terrifying pace--it's estimated that Red-Listed species disappear at a phenomenal rate of 11.6 percent per year. This means that they would be gone from half of their habitats in about six years.

Yet it seems that this lack of diversity is also extending to farm animals. As new farming practices are put into use, some breeds of livestock or types of plants go out of style. Older breeds of cows or goats produce less milk or meat than others, and some breeds unintentionally become scarce because farmers aren't able to discern the characteristics of a rare breed.

"The loss of biodiversity is happening faster and everywhere, even among farm animals," said Zakri in an interview with RedOrbit. "The good news is that the rate of decline is dropping but the latest data classify 22 percent of domesticated breeds at risk of extinction."

It's not surprising that farmers are picking breeds that are more productive. After all, their livelihoods depend partly on yield. For example, one sought-after stud Holstein bull can impregnate many thousands of dairy cows through artificial insemination in order to guarantee the "perfect" offspring, according to the Science Recorder.

Currently, there are 30,000 edible plants in the world. Yet of that staggering amount, only 30 crops make up 95 percent of the energy in human food. These crops include rice, corn, wheat, millet, sorghum and soybeans. According to Zakri, a recent estimate by the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization estimated that 22 percent of the world's livestock is in danger of extinction.

"The decline in the diversity of crops and animals is occurring in tandem with the need to sharply increase world food production and as a changing environment makes it more important than ever to have a large genetic pool to enable organisms to withstand and adapt to new conditions," said Zakri in an interview with RedOrbit. Scientists, economists and farmers will have to work together in the future in order to ensure the productivity, reliability and diversity of the food that we consume.