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  Yahoo News 15 Jun 07
Industrial farming threatens species diversity: UN

The boom in industrial farming is threatening the diversity of farm animals, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warned Thursday.

It said in a report that for the last seven years on average one domestic species has vanished every month.

"Livestock production focused on a narrow range of breeds is the biggest threat to the worlds farm animal diversity," according to a report presented to the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

Surging global demand for meat, milk and eggs has led to heavy reliance on high-output animals intensively bred to supply uniform products, according to the report.

The problem is compounded by the ease with which genetic material can now be moved around the world, says the report, which draws on information from 169 countries.

"One livestock breed a month has become extinct over the past seven years, and time is running out for one-fifth of the worlds breeds of cattle, goats, pigs, horses and poultry," said FAO assistant director-general Alexander Mueller.

"This report, the first-ever global overview of livestock biodiversity and of the capacity within countries to manage their animal genetic resources, is a wake-up call to the world."
links
Farm animal diversity under threat One breed lost a month – industrial livestock production biggest factor, on the FAO website.

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