Animal farming is a leading cause of deforestation; over 70 percent of deforested land in the Amazon is now devoted to grazing and feedcrop production for farm animals. The conference concluded with a decision asking governments and other stakeholders to submit suggestions for addressing the drivers of deforestation, with the aim of incorporating them into the mechanism on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+).
"Now the real work begins," Geoff Evans, HSI's Animal Agriculture and Climate Change Specialist, told The Poultry Site. "Moving forward, individual governments must implement policies and financial mechanisms that prioritise smallholder and sustainable farmers, who hold the key to improving food security, as well as to the well-being of communities and farm animals." HSI and its partners will continue to work with governments and international institutions to further these goals. As individuals, we do not have to wait for policymakers to act. Each of us can reduce our contribution to climate change by reducing our consumption of meat, eggs, and milk.
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For more information, go to www.hsi.org/issues/climate_change/.
