A
report recently issued by the Earth Policy Institute provides an
in-depth look at global trends relating to soybean yields as well as
revealing the link to destruction of tropical rainforests. First grown
by farmers in China some 3,000 years ago, soy is now one of the world’s
dominant crops, going from 17 million tons to 250 million tons in just
50 years, representing a 14-fold increased in yields.
However,
the report states that only about 30% of soybeans are consumed directly
by humans with some 70% being processed for consumption by livestock
and poultry.
And as new acreage is carved out of the Amazon
and other countries like Honduras and Paraguay, vast amounts of carbon
are released from both the areas cleared for soybeans and the livestock
that consumes them.
Currently, Brazil is the world’s second
largest producer of soybeans, with countries like China importing 75%
of the 55 million tons consumed primarily by livestock in that country.
The Earth Policy Institute report concludes that saving the
rainforests depends on reducing demand for soybeans and thus eating
more plant-based foods.
Our heartfelt thanks Earth Policy
Institute for calling our attention to the connection between meat
consumption and the demise of our irreplaceable rainforests.
May
we all act now to save both the trees and the planet by adopting the
sustainable vegan diet. In an interview published in the September 2009
edition of The House Magazine, Supreme Master Ching Hai again addressed
such tolls of the livestock industry along with the most direct way to
protect the rainforest and our ecosphere.
Supreme Master Ching Hai:
On land, meat consumption is responsible for vast regions being cleared
for grazing crops that are fed to livestock. One example is seen in the
deforested Amazon areas that have gone from lush forest to bare fields
used for cattle grazing or primarily animal feed crops.
With
these activities essentially robbing our biodiversity, there has been
an alarming rise in the disappearance of plants and animals. And one of
the most comprehensive studies ever conducted in the field is now
forecasting that over a million species will be lost in the coming 50
years.
The answer to all of this is quite clear. Stop the meat
consumption. Stop it yesterday. This will eliminate the so-called need
for livestock raising, which will immediately return immense amounts of
land to natural sustainability or to natural growing methods that allow
biodiversity to be replenished. This is the way we need to go, and
fast.
http://www.earthpolicy.org/index.php?/plan_b_updates/2009/update86
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