The UK and Europe import vast amount of soy to feed to animals, particularly chicken and pigs, raised for meat. This has led to the destruction of the Amazon as farmers cut down the trees to grow massive soy plantations. The environmental and human rights impacts are well documented.

DEFRA has sponsored a 5 year project to investigate whether lupins could be grown in the UK which could replace soy in animal feeds. Like soy, lupins have a high protein content of around 30-40%.

According to the European Feed Manufacturers Association, the EU livestock industry imports over 75% of it’s protein requirements, much of which is soy. Around 98% of the soy comes from Brazil and Argentina, both of which produce a large percentage of genetically modified soy.

Whilst the efforts to replace soy are commendable, I can’t see how this plan is feasible. We import hundreds of thousands of tonnes of soy every year to feed animals, how can our land-scarce island provide the space and water to produce so much animal feed? If we really want to stop the imports of soy, or any other food imports, we need to look at the foods we consume and ensure we make choices that require the least amount of natural resources so that we can make the most of what is available to us here in the UK; and that means we cannot continue to eat high levels of animal products.

“Right now, huge swathes of rainforest are being cut down to feed the global appetite for beef and leather”, so say Greenpeace, following te release of their new report Amazon Cattle Footprint.

The report confirms what we have known for some time; that cattle ranching is the main cause of Amazon destruction. Brazil is the world’s largest beef exporter with a market share of 30%. The Brazilian government has plans to increase their share to 60% in the next decade which can only result in further deforestation.

As the forest is destroyed huge amounts of carbon dioxide are released, which contributes to climate change (deforestation of tropical forests is responsible for approximately 20% of the global emissions
of greenhouse gases); many of the tens of thousands of species of plant, mammals, fish and birds come under severe threat of extinction and indigenous people lose their homes. In addition to this, cattle ranching itself results in further greenhouse gas emissions (methane from the cows) and subjects many workers to slavery (cattle ranching is responsible for the highest rates of slave labour in Brazil).

Whilst Greenpeace target industry and governments to take strong action to halt deforestation, we all, as individuals can take action too. The global meat industry exists because consumers create the demand. If you stop buying meat, there is no reason for the Brazilian government to clear any more forests to produce it.

Find out more about food choices that are sustainable, equitable and environmentally responsible.

Clearing for cattle grazing and to grow crops to feed animals is the main cause of deforestation. We all know that the destruction of forests is damaging to biodiversity and to the indigenous peoples who live there. However, many are unaware of the huge impact deforestation has on climate change.

According to Conservation International, the burning and clearing of tropical forests emits at least 20 percent of global greenhouse gases, more than all of the world’s cars, trucks and aeroplanes combined. Sound familiar? Animal agriculture is responsible for 18% of greenhouse gases, also more than all the world’s transport systems. Or are these figures actually reflecting the very same problem?

The number one driver of deforesation is the meat industry - the vast majority of forest is cleared for pasture or for growing grains to feed animals. If deforestation is responsible for 20% of all greenhouse gases, then 18% is a huge underestimate of the greenhouse gases accountable to animal agriculture. Deforestation is just one impact of the meat industry, but then we also have to remember the massive amounts of methane that animals produce and the transportation of soy and grain from Brazil, Argentina and the US to all the farmers around the world who rely on this protein-rich food to feed their animals.

Then, aside from climate change, if we add to the equation water use and pollution (it is estimated that in the USA livestock and feed crop agriculture are responsible for 37 percent of pesticide use, 50 percent of antibiotic use, and a third of the nitrogen and phosphorus loads in freshwater resources) and land degradation (about 70 percent of all grazing land in dry areas is considered degraded, mostly because of overgrazing, compaction and erosion attributable to livestock activity) - then we have a big problem.

The impact of the meat industry on the world is far far greater than anyone is willing to accept. When will people accept the facts and take the right action? Is a steak really worth destroying the planet for?

Brazil’s new environment minister has blamed cattle for the recent increase in deforestation of the Amazon.

Brazil’s previous environment minister, Marina Silva, blamed the increasing deforestation of the Amazon on Brazilian cattle ranchers and farmers and now the new minister, Carlos Minc, has announced that he also believes this to be the case - so much so that he has introduced new measures in an attempt to halt the destruction.

As the price of meat and grain increases, so does the illegal logging of the Amazon to make way for cattle. To combat this, Minc has warned that the government will impound cattle caught grazing on illegally cleared pastures with an operation dubbed “Rogue Bull.”

Forest is not only cleared for cattle grazing but also to make way for soy planatations. Around 90% of the world’s soy is fed to animals and it is now widely recognised that feeding the 73 million cows of the Amazon, and all the others animals raised for meat in the world, is the biggest driver of deforestation. On top of this, 75% of Brazil’s greenhouse gas emissions are caused by burning to clear new or overgrown pasture for cattle. The contribution to climate change this creates is further exasperated by the the methane that the cows produce.

Forests are crucial to the health of the planet. They clean the air, produce rainfall and absorb carbon dioxide. Without forests we all suffer - the animals and people who live there and the rest of us who depend on the environmental benefits they give us.

We know the meat industry is the leading cause of deforestation, therefore the solution is simple. Go vegan.