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.