Despite myriad challenges, clinicians see room for progress.
Image credit: Shutterstock/David Tadevosian.
Bonhommeau et al.’s report, “Eating up the world’s food web and the human trophic level” (1), provides a valuable perspective on the role of human food consumption within the global ecosystem. However, the ranking of human beings at a similar trophic level as other animals downplays the effects that humans have on the Earth in comparison with other species. The sheer volume of food consumed by humans and our growing preference for inefficient food sources cause us to have increasingly disproportionate impacts on the global ecosystem in relation to other species, even of the same trophic level.
The importance of dietary preference is exemplified by differences …
↵1To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: kjfeeley{at}gmail.com.
Rising preference for beef increases land demands
Article Classifications
- Biological Sciences
- Ecology
- Social Sciences
- Environmental Sciences
Sign up for Article Alerts
Jump to section
You May Also be Interested in
Better explicating the strengths and shortcomings of these models will help refine projections and improve transparency in the years ahead.
Image credit: Witsawat.S.
Using CRISPR, researchers showed that a region some used to label “junk DNA” has a major role in a rare genetic disorder.
Image credit: Nathan Devery.
Mara Reed and Michael Manga explore why Yellowstone's Steamboat Geyser resumed erupting in 2018.
Some songbird parents might improve their own fitness by manipulating their offspring into leaving the nest early, at the cost of fledgling survival, a study finds.
Image credit: Gil Eckrich (photographer).