The Amazon rainforest, often referred to as the “lungs of the Earth,” is facing an unprecedented crisis. While deforestation has long been recognized as a critical environmental issue, the primary culprit behind this devastation is often overlooked. Beef production, a seemingly unrelated industry, is in fact the hidden driver behind the large-scale clearing of this vital ecosystem. Despite recent declines in deforestation rates in countries like Brazil and Colombia, the demand for beef continues to fuel the destruction of the Amazon. Investigative reports have revealed alarming practices such as the “laundering” of cattle raised illegally on Indigenous lands, further exacerbating the problem. As the world’s top exporter of beef, Brazil’s deforestation rates are likely higher than reported, driven by global demand for red meat. This ongoing deforestation not only threatens millions of species that call the Amazon home but also undermines the forest’s crucial role in producing oxygen and sequestering carbon dioxide. The urgency to address this issue is paramount, as the Amazon faces additional threats from climate change and increased fire incidents.
Annie Spratt/Unsplash
The Real Reason We’re Losing the Amazon Rainforest? Beef Production
Annie Spratt/Unsplash
Deforestation, the clearing of trees or forests, is a problem of global concern, but one industry bears the majority of the blame.
The good news is that deforestation in Brazil and Colombia, two nations that contain stretches of the Amazon rainforest, declined in 2023. However, an investigative report published last year found that over 800 million trees had been felled in Brazil from 2017 to 2022—for the nation’s beef industry, which exports to countries around the world, including the United States.
In fact, Brazil is the top exporter of beef in the world, and deforestation within the country may be even higher than the industry would have the public know.
A 2024 report revealed the “laundering” of thousands of cattle raised illegally on land rightfully belonging to Indigenous people in the Amazon, then sent to ranchers, who later claimed the animals were fully raised without deforestation when selling them to slaughterhouses for major producers like JBS.
The global demand for red meat, which remains relatively steady despite beef’s devastating toll on the environment and its adverse impacts on individual health, fuels this problem.
Forests are vital support networks for the species that live within them. The Amazon rainforest alone is a habitat for millions of species of plants and animals—one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet.
Plus, forests are essential even to life beyond them. Like the oceans, forests play a crucial role in producing some of the oxygen we breathe and capturing the harmful greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO2), from our atmosphere.
We must continue to combat deforestation because our forests face other threats, too. For example, largely due to drought and climate change, there were at least 61 percent more fires in the Amazon during the first six months of 2024 compared to the same time span in 2023.
The United Nations Environment Programme writes, “Forests are essential to keep global temperature rise to 2C. They are our best natural ally in reducing emissions while enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem benefits.
However, in 2021, scientists found the Amazon was emitting more carbon than it was storing for the first time—a stark reminder that deforestation is pushing us further into a climate crisis.
Deforestation can seem like a problem out of our hands as individuals, but each time you eat, you choose whether to protect our trees and forests.
By filling your plate with plant-based foods rather than animal products (especially beef), you are choosing not to support the biggest culprit in the clearing of forestland: animal agriculture.
You can also voice support for some of the most effective efforts to preserve forests: those led by Indigenous peoples protecting the land they have long lived on. Recent research shows 83 percent less deforestation in areas of the Amazon safeguarded by Indigenous communities.
Notice: This content was initially published on FarmSanctuary.org and may not necessarily reflect the views of the Humane Foundation.
