Friends of the Earth Europe | 7 March 2013 

Hidden impacts: How Europe's resource overconsumption promotes global land conflicts

Based on newly available data this report sheds lights on Europe’s role as a major user of global land resources.  

Europe’s high consumption levels, and insatiable appetite for meat, dairy, textiles and other products that require large areas of land, mean Europe’s 'land footprint' remains one of the largest in the world.    

The report finds that the EU is importing the equivalent of 1,212,050 square kilometres to meet its demand for food. This accounts for 45% of the land needed for the production of the food that the EU consumes. This contributes to climate change, biodiversity loss, and negative social impacts like land-grabbing.

► Read the full report ‘Hidden impacts: How Europe's resource overconsumption promotes global land conflicts’ online at: www.foeeurope.org/hidden-impacts-070313

► Figures for Europe's land consumption per country and per capita can be viewed in an interactive infographic at: www.global2000.at/files/LandUse.swf