We know that biodiversity is the variety of life, at genetic, species and ecosystem levels, and is essential for the resilience of ecosystems. We also know that a part of this essential biodiversity contributes in one way or another to agriculture and food production. But reports have pointed to how the global food system is the primary driver of biodiversity loss, and this loss will continue to accelerate, unless we change the way we produce food. Can mass agriculture ever be friendly to biodiversity? We discuss this, and also the intrinsic and economic value of Malaysian biodiversity, with Chrishen Gomez, a biologist who is currently attached to the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) at the University of Oxford.