How Industrial Agriculture Is Driving Deforestation In The Amazon
Written by Jenny Rose Edwards
Deforestation in the Amazon is happening at an alarming rate. As a result: habitats are destroyed, native tribal communities are displaced and carbon that trees once stored is released into the air.
The biggest driver of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest? Industrial agriculture.
What Is Industrial Agriculture?
Industrial or intensive agriculture is distinguished from traditional agriculture by a high ratio of inputs to land area and is also characterized by a reduction in fallow periods, in order to maximize crop yields. A great deal of industrial agriculture takes place in the forestland of developing countries, such as those in Latin America..
The Importance Of Forests
As well as being a remarkable part of the natural world that we could not imagine living without, forests play an important part in the health of our planet. They are necessary because:
80% of life on earth lives in forests.
300 million humans live in forests, including 60 million indigenous people.
Forests absorb and store carbon.
And of course, forests provide us with materials such as wood, paper, and fruit.
Forests and other green spaces can also have more of a personal impact, too. There is strong scientific evidence that suggests visiting a forest can improve your mood, attention span, and even boost your immune system.
How Industrial Agriculture Is Driving Deforestation
Some 80% of global deforestation is caused by agricultural production, which is also the leading cause of habitat destruction. And you might be surprised to hear that agriculture contributes to permanent forest loss more so than wildfires, commercial forestry, and urbanisation.
Corporations are destroying forests at an unimaginable rate in order to make space for livestock feed (soybeans), meat, and dairy. So we have to show these corporations that the demand is decreasing by incorporating more plant foods into our diets and fewer animal products.
The Amazon has long been in the spotlight regarding the topic of agriculture-driven deforestation, however, in recent years, other regions are becoming more impacted, too. For example, from 2008 to 2010, an average of 600,000 hectares of forest was lost annually in Indonesia, the vast majority of this due to agriculture.
