Today, humanity has already consumed all the production that was possible on the planet for a year without depleting it, and has now begun to consume natural resources on credit, warn non-governmental organizations Global Footprint Network and WWF.

Schematically, it would take 1.75 times the size of planet Earth to meet the needs of the Earth’s population, according to this index, which was created by researchers in the early 1990s and has not ceased to deteriorate since.

Today is “the day when humanity begins to consume more natural resources and services than ecosystems can reproduce annually,” summarize the two NGOs.

“For the remaining 156 days (until the end of the year), our consumption of renewable resources will be equal to the consumption of the planet’s natural capital,” Leticia May of the Global Footprint Network explained in a press interview.

This calculation does not even include the needs of other species living on Earth. “We have to leave room for wild species,” he said.

This “surplus” occurs when human consumption exceeds the reproductive capacity of ecosystems. According to the Global Footprint Network, which keeps the count, it hasn’t stopped coming earlier and earlier over the past 50 years: December 29, 1970, November 4, 1980, October 11, 1990, September 23, 2000, August 7. , 2010.

In 2020, that day came three weeks later due to restrictions that were put in place to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic. But then he returned to the previous level and continued to accelerate.

The food system went crazy

This Ecological Footprint is calculated based on six different categories: “crop, pasture, forest area required for the production of forest products, fishery areas, built-up areas and forest area required to absorb carbon (dioxide) emitted from the burning of fossil fuels.” and is inextricably linked to lifestyle and consumption, especially in rich countries.

For example, if all of humanity lived like the French, the day of transcendence would have been recorded even earlier, on May 5, 2022.

WWF and the Global Footprint Network are particularly critical of the food production system.

“Our food system has gone crazy, it is over-consuming natural resources and not meeting the needs of fighting poverty on the one hand, and the epidemic of overweight and obesity on the other,” comments Pierre Canet from WWF France.

“The ecological footprint of food is important: food production affects all categories of impact, especially crops (needed to feed animals and people) and carbon (agriculture is a sector that emits large amounts of greenhouse gases).” , the two NGOs specify.

“In total, more than half of the biological potential of the planet (55%) is used to feed humanity,” they emphasize.

In particular, according to Pierre Canet, “most food and raw materials are used to feed animals and animals, which are then consumed.” In the case of the European Union, “63% of arable land (…) is directly linked to livestock production,” he notes, for example.

According to two NGOs, agriculture contributes to deforestation, climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, and uses much of the available fresh water.

Based on scientific advice, they call for a reduction in meat consumption in rich countries. “If we could halve meat consumption, we could push back the excess day by 17 days,” Ms May said.

“Limiting food waste will cut surpluses by 13 days, which is a big deal,” she adds, as a third of food is wasted globally.

Source: RES