Plant-based diets and sustainable farming required to halt 'unprecedented' losses to natural world, report finds

Photograph: It is 'crucial to take into consideration the quality of foods in a plant-based diet', says doctor

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he United Nations has issued a report warning about the “unprecedented” losses being inflicted on the natural world, ahead of negotiations next year to set new global biodiversity targets.

The UN Global Biodiversity Outlook report, published by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on Tuesday, finds that the world will fail to fully meet all of the decade-long goals it set itself in 2010 to protect nature.

The 20 targets, which were supposed to be completed by 2020, include lowering the rates of habitat loss, preventing extinction and increasing spending for nature.