What is driving Amazon Deforestation?
In order to understand what is driving Amazon deforestation, we need to examine the entire process. We need to step back from the individual phases and see the overall picture. As we examine the full cycle of the deforestation process we can get a clearer view, and perhaps see what is the major contributing factor.
It starts with illegal felling of tropical hardwoods
There is a huge worldwide market for tropical hardwoods. The US and Europe have an insatiable appetite for it, mostly for flooring, decking, and furniture production. In some parts of the world, it may be sustainably harvested, but this does not tend to be the case in the Amazon Basin.
Illegal felling of tropical hardwoods and subsequent exporting of timber in the amazon occurs near riverbanks and road construction sites. Since the operations are clandestine there is little possibility of industrialization of the timber, it must be gotten out of the forest quickly and sent on its way.
The fact that the process is illegal and needs to be done quickly means that only the highest value timber is extracted. The lower value material is left behind and usually burned to allow for the growth of what will become pasture.
Pasture for cattle production comes next
Once the forest is gone pasture springs up and the next phase of deforestation begins. There are an estimated 200 million head of cattle in the Brazilian amazon alone! This huge herd is raised, once again, mostly for export.
Hong Kong and mainland China account for almost half of Brazil’s beef exports. Brazil is the largest beef exporter in the world. Annual exports are currently running above 1.5 million tons, around 20% of worldwide exports. Besides China, large amounts of beef are exported to the US and other developed countries.
As reported in yesterday’s Guardian, major US food retailers are deeply involved. However, it is not just Walmart, Costco, and Kroger that are commercializing this beef. Burger King and McDonald’s use large quantities of beef. KFC and the other two serve chicken which was fed on soya from the region.
Finally, intensive large-scale agriculture moves in
In a natural progression up the value chain, farming pushes out cattle ranching in these deforested areas. The recent development of cultivars of soya adapted to tropical climates have put Brazil in the lead in terms of exports and per acre production.
As for the timber and beef, a large portion of the soya is exported, almost three quarters to China. China is the world’s largest importer of soya, which is mainly used for chicken and pig production. Due to land and water shortages, it is impossible for China to produce enough soybeans for its internal use.
Conclusion, we are the major driver of amazon deforestation
While Brazil and the other amazon basin countries are benefitting financially from the deforestation of the region, they really are not the drivers of the process. The insatiable demand for a higher animal protein, western-style diet in the poorer areas of the world is driving amazon deforestation.
It would be indefensible to argue that protein and calorie deficient people consume less, it is just as indefensible to continue the overconsumption prevalent in the more developed areas of the world.