Beef and dairy drive 41% of biodiversity damage linked to global farmland

Beef and dairy production account for 41% of biodiversity damage caused by global farmland, with animal-sourced foods generating eight times more carbon loss and 14 times more biodiversity loss per calorie than plant-based foods. The environmental damage from agriculture is concentrated in relatively few regions—primarily South America, sub-Saharan Africa, and South-East Asia—where two-thirds of carbon and biodiversity losses occur on just one-third of farmland, creating opportunities for targeted restoration efforts. Restoring the 30% of farmland with the highest combined losses could sequester 170 billion tonnes of carbon and prevent 60% of extinction risk linked to agricultural land.