Meat industry and the Amazon
Brazil is the largest producer and exporter of beef in the world. Nearly 50% of Brazilian livestock are raised in field that used to be rainforest, with trees being burned down to make way for these animals. As demand for beef has grown around the world, Brazilian farmers have set fires to clear the forest over the past six decades. This is becoming a serious issue that has only recently taken centre stage at the G7 summit. Leaders in 2019 have now agreed to give a $20 million aid package to help Brazil and neighbouring countries protect the Amazon. But is it too late?
Fires are spreading across 7,000 square miles in the rainforest - an area larger than Puerto Rico. Additionally, for many indigenous groups, this rainforest is their home. A home which is being exploited at an alarming rate and harbouring a detrimental impact to our climate. If we want to tackle this crisis, we either have to reduce our consumption of meat or only raise livestock on native grasslands. Something which was common up until the mid-20th century, where in the 1960s the government created livestock programs near the Amazon forest. That is when farmers began clearing up forests to make room for cattle.
Even though most of the Amazon is still protected under - to control illegal activity, including fires, since remote areas are hard to monitor and also because half of all protected native vegetation in Brazil sits on private property. The Mura people have been living in the rainforest since colonial times and have witnessed and fallen victim to the consequences of the destruction of their homeland. With deforestation soaring, and Amazon fires in July up 28% year-on-year, scientists believe the Amazon is edging towards its tipping point.
The Greenpeace UK's head of forests, Anna Jones, has stated that, "Cattle ranching is the biggest driver of deforestation in the Amazon." and described the world's biggest rainforest as "a big beating ecosystem that helps to regulate the climate and plays a role in climate stability." This ecosystem is under even more threat since the election of the far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, a man who has a self-appointed nickname of Captain Chainsaw and who has spoken on record numerous times about his desire to exploit the Amazon for profit, regardless of consequences.
The fact is that 90% of the fires started in the Amazon are to clear space to raise cattle and 70% of the fires are happening right next to areas already cleared for cattle grazing by large meat companies in the region. The beef that is raised within the Amazon fires travels the world and traces of the mighty rainforest find their way to our fast-food restaurants. According to government data, 40% of Brazil's entire cattle population are illegally raised. Now, with Bolsonaro in charge, this number is going to increase dramatically.
Deforestation is not the only problem. It is the reality that the Amazon is not designed to be a pasture suitable for grazing cows. It is not an ideal land to grow soy. The soil lacks the nutrients necessary to grow what is needed to sustain agricultural activities, making the need for pesticides to find their way into the human food supply. Worse than this, the pesticide runs off into the local rivers which end up poisoning small indigenous communities. These indigenous communities which have even faced murder by protesting against the illegal invasion of their land.
Big branches such as Tesco are on the right tracks by calling on the UK government to order food companies to ensure all food sold in the UK is deforestation-free. This is aligned with a Greenpeace campaign calling on the supermarket to cut links to JBS, the world's biggest meat company, over its alleged links to farms involved in Amazon deforestation. The supermarket says the UK should introduce due diligence across supply chains to monitor for deforestation. Germany is also weighing up a due diligence law on supply chains, reportedly suggested by Angela Merkel. And more than half of Britons would consider rejecting meat products linked to deforestation, a YouGov poll for Greenpeace has found.
JBS has been linked to farms involved in Amazon deforestation five times in just over a year. Greenpeace said JBS is still slaughtering the Amazon in a new report released on Wednesday. It calls on Tesco to halve the amount of meat it sells by 2025. Tesco buys meat from two JBS-controlled companies, Moy Park and Tulip, which produce soya-reared pork and chicken. These companies also supply Aldi, Co-op, Lidl, Sainsbury's and Waitrose. It is worrying that a company which is providing meat from farms with bad agricultural practices is providing to a wide array of our supermarkets.
JBS is a company which in 2017 paid one of the biggest fines in global corporate history, at $3.2 billion, after admitting to bribing hundreds of politicians. It is a company which has said that it has a zero tolerance approach to illegal deforestation and has introduced sophisticated monitoring systems for its direct suppliers, but its actions speak otherwise. They have been caught red-handed profiting from Amazon destruction in an era of climate and nature breakdown.
Until recently, Brazil was on the right path in dealing with this problem. In the decade leading up to the election of Bolsonaro, there was a major reduction in deforestation and even large meat and soy companies started to make improvements. However, once he was elected, he made it clear that the only thing he cared about when it comes to the Amazon is how much it can be exploited for profit. When it comes to the indigenous communities facing ethnocide and the environment issues stemming from increased deforestation, Bolsonaro has ignored this.
The Amazon rainforest is our planet's lungs - it has produced about 20% of the world's oxygen. The only way we can save it in an era with corrupt presidents is by rating less meat. It is an idea that Finland has suggested, by calling for the European Union to "urgently review the possibility of banning Brazilian beef imports" over the Amazon fire. A trade deal struck in June between South America's bloc of countries and the EU could open up even more markets for Brazil's beef-packing industry and damage our climate even more. Once implemented, this deal will lift 20% levy on beef imports into the EU. This triggered a response in Ireland who said it was ready to block the deal unless Brazil took action on the Amazon.
If saving the rainforest does not convince you to eat less meat, then greenhouse gas emissions that the cattle create surely will. Beef is responsible for 41% of livestock greenhouse gas emissions and that livestock accounts for 14.5% of total global emissions. An alarming report last year by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, said changing our diets could contribute 20% of the effort needed to keep global temperature from rising 2C above pre-industrial levels.
Of course recycling or taking the bus rather than driving to work can help the environment, but cutting down your meat consumption is the most radical lifestyle change you could take to save our planet. Scientists have warned that huge reductions in meat eating are required if the world is to combat dangerous climate change, with beef consumption in western countries needing to drop by 90%. You do not even need to label your diet vegetarian, perhaps 'flexitarian' to save our planet.
The Amazon forest is vital to absorb Co2 from the air and safeguard and preserve it. They can convert this Co2 into oxygen to ensure that our atmosphere remains oxygen-rich. When Co2 builds up in the atmosphere it creates a 'greenhouse' effect - where Co2 traps heat from the sun, creating a warmer climate. In climate change, the main driver for increasing Co2 is human activity. As trees specialise in removing excess Co2 from our atmosphere, we need our trees to plant more and protect what we have.
I made the change to become vegetarian when I researched and learned about the devastating impact of the meat industry on our climate. I think the only way to encourage people to eat less meat is not only educate them but remove the label of having to be a strict vegetarian - just try and be conscious of eating less meat. Governments can support this by having a tax on red meat or in international relations with Brazil to negotiate with Bolsonaro. If we took changes in our meat consumption and governments introduced policies to facilitate this, we would be unstoppable in the battle against the climate crisis.
I've attached some fun veggie and vegan calculator apps which shows you how much impact you can make on the environment depending on how long you do not eat meat or animal products.
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