Biomass Dominance as Policy Metric

Updated: 2025.12.01 5D ago 1 sources
Report total biomass share by human, livestock, and wild taxa as a standard, comparable metric for national and global environmental policy. Tracking changes in the percent of mammal and bird biomass over time would make land‑use, diet, and conservation trade‑offs legible and allow targetable policy (e.g., reduce livestock biomass share through dietary shifts or productivity changes). — Converting biodiversity loss and food‑system impact into a simple, repeatable 'biomass share' statistic would reframe debates about diets, subsidies, land conservation, and zoonotic risk into measurable national commitments.

Sources

Almost all of the world’s mammal biomass is humans and livestock
Fiona Spooner 2025.12.01 100% relevant
The article’s headline claim—humans + livestock = 95% of mammal biomass (and poultry > wild birds)—is the concrete data point that shows how useful a biomass‑share metric can be for public policy and communication.
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