Deforestation disaster
‘Slash and burn’ agriculture is destroying tropical rainforests
Rainforests are being destroyed to make way for livestock grazing and growing animal feed. Over the past decade, previous governments have managed to reduce deforestation in many areas. However, satellite images show that deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest has increased rapidly since Jair Bolsonaro, a climate change sceptic, became president of Brazil in January 2019. The National Institute for Space Research (INPE), says deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon has surged above three football fields a minute, pushing the world’s biggest rainforest closer to a tipping point beyond which it cannot recover. Brazil contains 60 per cent of the Amazon rainforest – is that burger really worth it?
INPE. 2019. Area detection variation of DETER project with monthly granularity and PRODES Annual Seasonality (August to July). http://terrabrasilis.dpi.inpe.br/app/dashboard/alerts/legal/amazon/aggregated/
About the author
Dr. Justine Butler
Justine joined Viva! in 2005 after graduating from Bristol University with a PhD in molecular biology. After working as a campaigner, then researcher and writer, she is now Viva!’s head of research and her work focuses on animals, the environment and health. Justine’s scientific training helps her research and write both in-depth scientific reports, such as White Lies and the Meat Report, as well as easy-to-read factsheets and myth-busting articles for consumer magazines and updates on the latest research. Justine also recently wrote the Vegan for the Planet guide for Viva!’s Vegan Now campaign.
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