Human Impact on Food Chain Highlighted by Mohan Bhagwat in NYC Speech

Mohan Bhagwat painted a stark picture of humanity's expanding role in the global food chain. He noted that humans entered the chain relatively late, initially occupying the lowest tier, but within three thousand years rose to a middle position, and in seven thousand years reached the apex.

This rapid ascent, he argued, came at a heavy ecological cost: roughly 8,000 plant species and 5,000 animal species have vanished due to human activity. Bhagwat pointed out that while animals could flee and survive, plants cannot, making the current mode of human survival unsustainable.

He appealed for a renewed sense of humility, stating that intelligence does not grant ownership over nature. Instead, it imposes a duty to protect the existence of other species and the ecosystems they inhabit.