- [Narrator] At 2.124 million square miles,
the Amazon is the world's biggest rainforest.
It contains roughly one third of the world's
remaining tropical rainforests.
An area the size of the United States,
west of the Mississippi river.
Despite the Amazons significance,
it is suffering from deforestation.
Since 1978, over 289,000 square miles
of Amazon rainforest have been destroyed.
In 2019, the Amazon fires brought deforestation
to new heights, burning 906 hectares
from January to October.
- Wow, that entire farm where we were just minutes ago,
it seems to be gone.
(raging flames)
- [News Reporter] It's just one apocalyptic scene,
amidst a swarm of fires ravaging Brazil,
and it's Amazon rainforest spilling out into Bolivia,
Paraguay and Peru.
- [Narrator] Why is the Amazon being destroyed?
And what is the beef industry's role
in its rapid deforestation?
Before the arrival of Europeans,
the Amazon's indigenous people use the basin
for small scale cultivation.
They grew native crops such as Manioc, tubers,
fruit and palm trees in rotating plots;
as well as harvesting rubber, nuts, fruits, fibers,
and medicines from the forest.
Permanent colonization kicked off in the second half
of the 20th century.
Europeans learned that the soil was not suitable
for many types of permanent cultivation.
So, land was either converted to pasture for cattle
or it was reforested.
Today, cattle ranching is the biggest driver
of land destruction in every Amazon country,
accounting for 80% of deforestation rates.
Conservationists have been highlighting the connection
between cattle and Amazon rainforest destruction
since the 1980s.
English conservationist,
Norman Meyers dubbed it the Hamburger Connection
and argued that tropical deforestation was due
to North American demand for artificially cheap beef.
Between 1990 and 2018, Brazilian beef production exploded,
with cattle herds expanding by 56%.
The nation is now home to 200 million herd cattle
and 450,000 square kilometers of cleared forest
are now cattle pasture.
Brazil's the biggest exporter of beef in the world,
providing close to 20% of total global beef exports.
In 2018, Brazilian beef production peaked
at 9.9 million metric tons.
China and Hong Kong are the largest market
for Brazilian beef, accounting for 44% of total shipments.
Soy is another major driver of deforestation.
80% of soy grown in the Amazon is dedicated to animal feed.
Smaller percentages are used for oil and human consumption.
As land dedicated to beef pastures increased,
so did the demand for soy in the 1990s and 2000s,
creating a chain reaction where soy cultivation
replaced old cattle pastures;
which created the need to clear more forest
for raising beef cattle.
Brazil now has 24 to 25 million hectares of land
dedicated to soy growth,
and it is the world's second largest producer of soybeans.
Fast food giants play significant role in deforestation.
Investigations have shown that Marfrig,
a Brazilian meat company
and the world's largest supplier of burgers
has sourced meat from a farmer using deforested land.
It's clients include McDonald's and Burger King.
Both companies also raise poultry on Brazilian soy.
While both have pledged to stop deforestation,
neither has succeeded.
Roads and other forms of infrastructure construction
also contribute to deforestation.
Major highway construction began in the Amazon in the 1960s
and continues to this day.
Building roads has allowed ranchers
and loggers to claim new land,
allowing for further deforestation.
For example, BR163 was built in the 1970s
and allowed farmers access to new land.
Massive soy development led to the road
being nicknamed the Soy Highway.
Artemisa Xakriaba, an activist and a member
of Brazil's Xakriaba Tribe,
works to highlight why protecting the rainforest
is so critical.
Indigenous people live on 25% of the world's land
and protect 80% of plant and animal life.
Xakriaba has been protecting the forest
practically all her life.
- (speaks in a foreign language).
- [Narrator] At seven years old, she and her classmates
helped reforest 15 riversides near their home in Brazil,
her home country.
Indigenous tribes protect 13% of land
and have guarded roughly 400 million square miles
of the Amazon from deforestation.
To her and many others,
the Amazon is a home that they risk losing.
"We are fighting for our lives," Xakriaba said
during New York city's Youth Climate Strike
in September, 2019.
"We are fighting for our sacred territory,
but we are being persecuted, threatened, murdered,
only for protecting our own territories.
We cannot accept one more drop of indigenous blood spilled."
What are the consequences of the Amazon's destruction?
About 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions
come from tropical deforestation,
more than the world's cars, trucks, and buses combined.
According to the World Resources Institute,
if tropical deforestation were a country,
it would rank third in carbon dioxide equivalent emissions,
behind China and the United States.
Carbon emissions from cattle,
one of the primary drivers of deforestation,
make up 65% of livestock emissions.
The forest stores more than 120 billion tons of carbon
and is the world's largest carbon sink,
critical to mitigating climate change.
The trillions of tons of water transpired by trees
affects rainfall as far away as Texas.
The Amazon is also brimming with life.
It is home to 10% of the world's biodiversity,
including endangered flora and fauna.
The Amazon river streams and tributaries
contain the largest number of fish species in the world.
Trees play a key role in the local water cycle
by helping to keep a balance between the water on land
and water in the atmosphere.
But when deforestation or degradation occurs,
that balance can be thrown off
resulting in changes in precipitation and river flow.
Soil erosion is another issue.
Without trees to anchor fertile soil,
erosion can occur and sweep the land into rivers.
The agricultural plants that often replace the trees
cannot hold onto the soil.
Scientists have estimated that a third of the world's
arable land has been lost through soil erosion
and other types of degradation since 1960,
and as fertile soil washes away,
agricultural producers move on,
clearing more forest and continuing the cycle of soil loss.
Then, there is the loss of livelihoods and homes.
More than 30 million people live in the Amazon,
representing nine political national systems
and more than 350 indigenous groups.
And they rely on forests for shelter, livelihoods,
water, fuel and food security.
Deforestation disrupts their lives,
sometimes with devastating consequences.
In some instances,
low income people have been lured from their homes
to work on remote soy plantations,
where instances of inhumane working conditions
have been recorded.
What can you do to reduce your impact?
According to the Rainforest Alliance,
you can buy Rainforest Alliance certified products,
which means resources come from farms
that have passed audits for sustainability standards.
Look for it on products like coffee and chocolate,
but the easiest and most effective choice
is to keep meat off your plate.
Cattle pastures are the driving force behind the Amazon
rainforest destruction,
replace beef with more sustainable plant-based options
and vegan meat substitutes.
Beef yields 91.69 pounds per acre,
compared to 2007 pounds for dry peas,
1,727 pounds for black beans
and 1,359 for lentils.
Beans and legumes are also some of the most affordable
plant based ingredients you can buy.
If you're not ready to take the plunge,
try starting with one meat-free meal a day,
even incremental changes are a step toward helping
to protect the planet.
Xakriaba said during her speech,
"We often say that nature is our mother
because she gives us life,
she gives us food.
We have a duty to defend her."
That's it for today.
What measures are you taking to help protect the Amazon?
Let us know in the comments below.
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(gentle guitar music)