(MENAFN) New research commissioned by environmental organization World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) reveals that EU consumption was responsible for the disappearance of 149 million trees worldwide between 2021 and 2023.

The analysis investigates the effect of the EU’s demand for major commodities, such as soy, palm oil, cocoa, coffee, beef, leather, rubber, and industrial roundwood.

It concludes that the bloc’s consumption caused an average annual loss of 50 million trees, which translates to approximately 100 trees every minute.

WWF emphasizes that the results underscore the critical importance of complete and prompt enforcement of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), cautioning against any dilution or delay of these regulations.

The report indicates that chocolate consumption in the EU alone leads to the destruction of more than 10 million trees each year.

Similarly, beef and leather products are responsible for the loss of another 10 million trees annually, while palm oil use results in over 6 million trees being cut down.

Soy imports, mainly for animal feed used in products like fish, cheese, and eggs, contribute to an annual loss of around 6.4 million trees.

Coffee consumption also accounts for the removal of more than 3 million trees every year.

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