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Yesterday, July 28, 2022, marked a somber milestone as humanity consumed all the resources Earth could sustainably produce for the year; meanwhile, many organizations warn that humanity will live the rest of 2022 in a resource deficit.This day - known as Earth Overshoot Day - marks the time when humanity has used up 'all that ecosystems can regenerate in a year,' according to the Global Footprint Network and World Wildlife Fund.'From January 1st to July 28th, humanity has used up all that nature can produce in a year. That's why July 28th is Earth Overshoot Day,' said Mathis Wackernagel, president of the Global Footprint Network. “Earth has abundant reserves; we can deplete it for a while, but we cannot abuse it indefinitely. This situation is similar to money; we can spend more than we earn until we go bankrupt,” he added.According to calculations and measurements by researchers, humanity would need 1.75 Earths to sustainably support the entire world population. The Global Footprint Network also noted that Earth Overshoot Day has come earlier than ever in the last 50 years.
In 2020, this date regressed by three weeks due to the Covid-19 pandemic, before returning to pre-pandemic levels. However, this date is calculated uniformly worldwide. If everyone lived like an American, this date would be even earlier, on March 13th. If living like a Vietnamese, this date would be December 9th. The significant food production system and its carbon footprint are the main causes. More than half of the planet's biocapacity (55%) is used to feed humanity. A large part of the food and raw materials are used to feed animals, and these animals are then consumed by humans. In Europe, 63% of agricultural land is directly related to livestock.
Agriculture contributes to deforestation, climate change from greenhouse gas emissions, loss of biodiversity, and ecosystem degradation, while using a large amount of freshwater. Based on scientific evidence, reducing meat consumption in rich countries is a solution. If we can cut meat consumption in half, we can push Earth Overshoot Day back by 17 days. Furthermore, limiting food waste would push this date back by 13 days, which is significant considering that humanity is wasting a third of the world's food.
According to Overshoot Day
