Raising meat is killing the rainforest
Raising meat is killing the Amazon rainforest. The pattern is clear: first, the forest is razed, then the cattle are moved in.
The vast Amazon rainforest is on the edge of unraveling. Between 10 and 47 percent of the Amazon rainforest may cross “tipping points” by 2050, according to new research published in the science journal Nature. A tipping point is a critical threshold at which a small disturbance can cause an abrupt shift in an ecosystem. As deforestation continues, the “point of no return” for parts of the Amazon is drawing ever closer. The Amazonian rainforest is of critical importance to the world’s ecology, from being a key protector of our climate to being home to a huge numbers of species of plants and animals, now at risk of extinction because of the harm being done to it.
The land is being cleared to raise cattle and grow soy that the cattle feed on. The scale of the destruction is devastating. For instance, more than 800 million trees have been cut down in the Amazon rainforest in just six years to feed the world’s appetite for Brazilian beef, according to a new investigation, despite dire warnings about the forest’s importance in fighting the climate crisis. The problem continues to get worse. The region has experienced an eight percent increase in cattle since 2020.
Dietary change is imperative to reduce animal agriculture’s impact on climate change, land use, biodiversity, freshwater use, ocean acidification, and as a future carbon sink, to strengthen biosphere resilience. Not surprisingly, the diet that will result in the greatest amount of change for the good is the plant-based diet.
Raising beef is killing the Amazon. The Amazon is the largest rainforest on the planet but it’s being attacked by fire. One of Brazil’s scientific agencies, recorded 72,843 fires in the Amazon this year alone, marking an 83 percent surge compared to the same period in 2018. The rainforest is considered vital in slowing global warming. It’s also home to uncountable species of fauna and flora and, just as important, clearing and burning it creates massive soil erosion and without soil the plants can’t grow.
At a recent Natural Products Expo, plant-based foods was the leading trend in the food industry. Environmental, health and ethical concerns related to the production and consumption of animal products has moved purposefully plant-based foods, once relegated to the vegan and vegetarian minority, into the mainstream. Innovative new meat and dairy alternatives are improving upon taste and texture all the time, therefore widening the appeal of a plant-based way of eating. 
The rainforests are dying and raising livestock is killing them. The problem is only getting worse. For instance, according to recent reports, deforestation in Brazil has already increased by 30 percent in just the last 12 months. 1,600 trees are chopped down every minute just to make room for cattle to graze and to grow livestock feed. If these rates of deforestation continue, it’s likely that there won’t be any rainforest left in 100 years. It is this all-time record destruction that has set off a loud alarm bell ringing among scientists, environmentalists and many others.