A third of the Earth’s land is severely degraded and 24 billion tons of fertile soil are disappearing each year, according to a new United Nations-backed study that puts the majority of the blame on intensive agriculture. “The Global Land Outlook is billed as the most comprehensive study of its type, mapping the interlinked impacts of urbanisation, climate change, erosion and forest loss,” reports The Guardian. “But the biggest factor is the expansion of industrial farming.”
Heavy tilling, chemical use and multiple harvests all have contributed to the problem, with the worst damage to soil health occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. But high food consumption from wealthy countries like the U.S. is also driving abuse of the land in developing countries, says the report.