Welcome to the fight for our forests
navigate the top ten myths about the
destruction of our forests to collect bonus points along the way.
Are you strong enough to complete the challenge? Good luck.
Myth one, most trees are cut down for paper and wood right?
wrong.
The truth is the biggest cause of deforestation is the production of food, with meat
soy, and palm oil some of the biggest causes of forest loss
Myth two
this is inevitable.
There are too many people feed. We need more space
wrong again.
The most tragic thing about the deforestation being caused by our
food, is that this destruction is totally pointless.
There is enough already cleared land available
for food production to feed a growing global population.
So we don't need to cut down any more forests.
Bonus!
Myth three
beef is the only food that causes deforestation
forests are certainly being cut down for grazing cattle,
but, nearly half of global deforestation is actually
caused by crops, with soy being the number one
culprit more than 80% of this soy is used to feed animals, particularly chickens
and pigs.
So without us realising it, meat production is causing huge sways of deforestation across the world.
Myth four
I only buy British meat
so that's okay right?
wrong again
buying locally sourced meat is a good thing to do.
It supports our farmers and cuts down on air miles,
but there's no such thing as a free lunch
chickens and pigs here in the UK need to eat
and this often involves the humble soybean.
Grown largely in South America it’s
one of the largest causes of deforestation on the planet
and it's being fed to our chickens and pigs here in the UK.
But soy can and should be grown sustainably.
Myth five
we can only solve this if we all go vegan.
Eating a more plant-based diet is certainly better
for your health and the planet
but deforestation could be hiding in many food products in our supermarkets
not just meat. From products containing palm oil like biscuits
and bread, to chocolate bars.
So going vegan isn't the solution by itself.
Ultimately. We don't think any of our food should be
destroying the planet
Myth six
boycotting palm oil will
help stop deforestation
wrong
found in nearly half of packaged products
we find in the supermarkets, from pizza to the deoderant, palm oil has caused huge amounts of
deforestation, with endangered species like the orangutan suffering
as a result.
But the real problem is not the crop itself,
but rather how and where it's grown. Palm oil is in many ways a super crop
efficient and productive. To get the same amount of vegetable oil from a
similar crop could require anything between 4
and 10 times more land. Boycotting palm oil could therefore cause more deforestation not less
The solution is for companies to use only sustainable palm oil that
respects and safeguards people and nature
bonus
Myth 7
This problem will be solved by avoiding certain foods or brands.
If only it were that simple. There are hundreds of different names
for palm oil, while the soy used to feed our livestock isn't even listed as an ingredient.
The scary truth is, at present
there's simply no way of knowing where deforestation is hiding.
This isn't something individuals can solve alone by avoiding certain foods.
That's why we need the UK government to end deforestation on our supermarket shelves
Myth 8
This is a problem for the food companies to sort out.
Efforts by business alone have not been enough to stop deforestation.
While some have made progress, things are not moving fast enough, and time is running out.
This is why government has to step in
New laws would level the playing field.
So those businesses doing the right thing aren't at a disadvantage. Both businesses,
and government have a massive role to play in creating better standards
and reducing the causes of deforestation
Myth nine
the UK government can't do anything.
It's foreign governments that need to act.
This is a global problem. All governments need to act, a world without the Amazon,
or tropical rainforest affects all of us. By ending deforestation in our products here in the UK
we can lead the world in the fight to save our forests.
bonus
Myth ten
there's nothing I can do about it.
Wrong!
It's not game over yet. There is something you can do about it.
You can raise awareness by sharing this film.
You can eat a more plant-based diet,
and most importantly you can call on our decision makers to end deforestation in our food.
We all need to fight for our forests, and get deforestation off our place.