deforestation in brazil
Post on 05-Jul-2015
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Globalization and the
Environment
Multinational corporations and the
destruction of the Amazon
Rainforest
Have you ever bought a McDonald’s
hamburger? A pair of Nike shoes?
Another pair of leather shoes?
Your purchase might have
contributed to the deforestation of
the Amazon rainforest.
The Amazon Rainforest
• Located in South
America
• Largest tropical
rainforest in the
world (It is about
the same size as
the U.S.)
• 10% of the world’s
species live in the
Amazon rainforest
• The Amazon river
runs through the
rainforest and is
4,000 miles long
DURING THE PAST 40 YEARS, 20%
OF THE AMAZON RAINFOREST HAS
BEEN CUT DOWN
Deforestation: The cutting and removal of the trees in a forest.
Deforestation in Brazil
• More than half of the Amazon Rainforest is in Brazil.
• Each year an area the size of over nine million soccer fields is deforested or damaged in Brazil.
Another example of deforestation in
Brazil:
Cattle ranching is the main cause of deforestation
in Brazil. Cattle ranches are farms for raising
cows, bulls and oxen.
Cattle ranchers need land for their cattle. Many
ranchers near the Amazon cut down the
rainforest to create land for raising cows.
Ten years ago this
land was green and
lush Amazon
rainforest.
This is another picture of deforestation caused by a
growing cattle ranch.
What are the effects of
deforestation?
• Erosion: Trees help soil absorb water. Without
trees, erosion occurs. Erosion makes it harder for new plants
to grow.
• Drought: When forests disappear there is less rain.
Droughts make it harder for farmers to grow crops.
• Species extinction: Animals, insects and plants need
the rainforest to survive. Without the rainforest, species die and become extinct.
The cattle ranchers in Brazil export their meat and
leather to multinational corporations around the world
• Beef from Brazil is
purchased by:
• Leather from Brazil is
purchased by:
Consumers around the world
purchase meat, shoes and purses
made with Brazilian cattle.
This global consumption can contribute to the
deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.
There is hope!
• In 2009, Brazil’s four largest beef companies agreed to stop buying cattle from ranchers that were located near areas of new deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.
• Nike and Timberland both agreed to stop buying leather from cattle ranchers near the Amazon rainforest.
• However, it is difficult to find out if the cattle ranchers are telling the truth about where their cattle live.
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