Vegans Love Carnivores

Today, July 11, is World Population Day : a day to think about the human population and how we  can best ensure that our population is sustainable for the health and well-being of both humans and of the planet. This day was started in 1987 by the United Nations as a way for awareness to be raised on the potential problems with an increasing population, as well as the impact that the current population has on the world. Since 1987, our population has grown by 2 billion. Let's put that into perspective: From http://library.fes.de/fulltext/bueros/simbabwe/01061002.htm We have seen unprecedented growth of human populations since the industrial revolution.  The keen-eyed of you may notice that the UN projections show that population growth may tail off in the future .  "Great", you say, "we don't have to worry about population growth from now on!".  I wish this were true. Right now, we consume more resources than the earth is able to replenish: ...

Article on my livestock guarding dog research on  Mongabay Dogs protect livestock from predators, predators from humans The last couple centuries have seen the decline of many large predator species. While there has been a surge of recovery and reintroduction programs to combat this problem, human population growth and limited protected areas have led to increased rates of human-wildlife conflicts in many regions of the world. A study published recently in the Wildlife Society Bulletin tested the ability of trained guarding dogs to protect livestock in South Africa and found it to be highly effective, protecting humans and predators alike. In South Africa, predators such as large cats often live in close proximity to farmlands and often times will prey on livestock. Predation of livestock can take a toll on farmers’ income, often costing more than $3,000 in annual losses. This, in turn, can lead farmers to hunt and kill cats as a means of protecting their livelihoods. Leopards ...

The last few decades of conservation policy has focused on the links between biodiversity degradation and poverty .  Whilst commendable in terms of human welfare, I think this direction is misleading: it has the mistaken premise that once people are not "poor" any more (what is "poor"?) they will no longer damage the environment.  This couldn't be further from the truth. The "poor" Himba tribes of Namibia hunt wildlife but have a very low overall impact on the environment Case in point: emerging markets, such as in China, are expected to have unprecedented demand for meat products as the poorer classes become more wealthy and demand these "luxury" items.  And we all know what an increase in meat production does to the environment . Next point:  Carbon emissions.   Middle- to higher-income countries have far greater carbon emissions than those in low-income countries .  I don't even need to expand here about what increased carbon e...