Why does cattle ranching affect the rainforest

The link between cattle, soy and fires. Archive Content Please note: This page has been archived and its content may no longer be up-to-date. Toggle navigation. Language English. The hidden costs of burgers. Habitat conversion, commonly referred to as deforestation, lies at the crux of what is shaping the future of the Amazon Biome.

Alone, the deforestation caused by cattle ranching is responsible for the release of million tons of carbon to the atmosphere every year, equivalent to 3. Beyond forest conversion, cattle pastures increase the risk of fire and are a significant degrader of riparian and aquatic ecosystems, causing soil erosion, river siltation and contamination with organic matter. Lastly, being publicly-funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!

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Support Us. Buy our Cookbooks. Sign Our Petitions. The i ndependent audit found the company had made impressive progress in tightening up procedures and shutting out farms with areas embargoed by Ibama. However, although the system excludes farms that have embargoed areas, the audit noted that other farms owned by the same company may still sell to JBS.

Growing international demand for beef has become a key driver in the destruction of the Amazon rainforest , with new figures seen by our team revealing the full extent of deforestation directly linked to a handful of major food corporations.

Beef linked to deforestation is exported globally, including to key markets in the east Asia and Europe. An investigation by Trase has uncovered how up to 5, sq km of forest is being felled in the Amazon and other areas annually to be converted into pasture used for cattle farming, with livestock from deforested areas found to be supplying abattoirs producing beef for global markets. There is no suggestion Lagoa do Triunfo beef is exported. AgroSB state that they purchased the land in , after the deforestation had already happened.

The latest data shows that deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has been on the rise since Between August and July , about 7, sq km was destroyed. In the most comprehensive study of its kind ever produced, Trase used customs, agricultural, sanitary inspection, and deforestation data to map Brazilian cattle exports from the international markets which consume them back to the more than municipalities where the cattle were raised.

Because of the high volume of Brazilian beef shipped to China and Hong Kong, these markets are associated with the highest amount of deforestation in total — between 17, and 26, hectares per year — according to the analysis. And that will increase if the EU and member states approve a new trade deal with Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay to gradually let 99, tonnes of low-tariff South American beef into Europe every year.