Can we arrest the wild life catastrophe? Yes we can
Can we arrest the wild life catastrophe? Yes we can
In Britain we are facing a wild life catastrophe. A recent State of Nature report described the UK as “one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world”. One in ten of all wild species are now threatened with extinction. Among those under special threat are the great crested newt, toads, hedgehogs, the Corn Marigold, the Large Marsh Grasshopper. 59% of all insect species have declined since 1970. Honey Bees are under severe threat. Even worse is the plight of the butterflies. 70% of butterflies have declined, many under severe threat including the High Brown Fritillary, the Adonis Blue, the Large Blue and many others. Some have gone altogether including the British Large Copper and some of the swallowtails. A rare good news story is that of the Chequered Skipper, once extinct but now re-introduced and thriving. There can be no doubt, though, that unless we can take decisive action in two or three decades there will be no butterflies left at all. Do we really want to hand on a world without butterflies to our children?
Is there anything we can do? Yes, there most certainly is. If you want to save wild life go vegan or almost vegan and preferably organic. Butterflies and bees are dying out for many reasons, but the main one is pesticides. Avoid food that has been exposed to pesticides if you can. And go vegan or almost vegan. There are a good many good reasons for going vegan. Ceasing to eat industrially produced meat is one of the best ways we can fight climate change. It’s good for your health and, to my own surprise I must say, the food is delicious. But it is also a major way in which we can arrest the decline in wild life. Far more food can be produced in vegetable form than animal form from the same area of land. If people only ate meat raised on land where vegetables can’t be grown, such as Welsh hillsides, there would be enough land both for us and the wildlife. Good for the planet, good for us, good for the wild life. So next time you eat a burger just pause for a moment and think – there’s another butterfly down the drain. Goodbye Goodbye.
