Alarming New Report: Factory Farming and Fossil Fuels Are A Double Whammy for Ecosystems

Statement by Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director, Food & Water Watch

Washington, D.C. – “The new Global Assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is a shocking reminder that we are speeding towards catastrophe thanks to how we grow food and abuse our environment. This report is a damning indictment of factory farming, a result of agricultural policies that have put a stranglehold on farmers and at the same time contributed to an ongoing ecological collapse. This report on stunning biodiversity losses shows without a doubt that we are eating our way to extinction and a collapse of the systems that sustain us.

“At the same time, climate change is speeding the loss of biodiversity, shrinking habitats and altering local ecosystems at an alarming rate. Factory farming and fossil fuels are a double whammy for the ecosystems that provide us safe, abundant food and clean water. We ignore this report and its implications for human survival at our own peril. It’s time to begin a swift transition away from fossil fuels and factory farms.”

Food & Water Watch mobilizes regular people to build political power to move bold and uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water, and climate problems of our time. We work to protect people’s health, communities, and democracy from the growing destructive power of the most powerful economic interests.

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Contact: Darcey Rakestraw, 202-683-2467; [email protected]