"Paving the Amazon with Soy"

[flvegan]

Good article found on Alternet.org

"The sprawling state of Mato Grosso, in central west Brazil, could be thought a paradise of sorts, at least from a distance. The lush rainforest of the Amazon basin, often called the "lungs of the world," straddles the state, as does the grassy Brazilian savanna or cerrado. Parrots, jaguars and pumas are just a few of the abundant species found in the savanna, considered one of the most biodiverse in the world, along with endangered species like the maned wolf, anteater and river-dwelling giant otter.

The landscape, however, is rapidly being altered as vast fields of soybeans and cattle ranches replace grasslands and forests. Soy rules Mato Grosso and it's not the soy that much of the world associates with the ostensibly eco-friendly, vegetarian diet, either."

http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/20793/

[henslee]

1. eating soy tacos right now...!!!!!! looks ike good article. will read.

[unpossibles]

2. good article

but like the one about cow flatulence destroying the ozone layer, this looks like another one that the RW will use to vilify vegetarians, without truly understanding what the article is saying. If people knew that it takes a lot more soy to feed a cow than it takes to feed humans, they may understand.

How can we be so short-sighted, like the guy who has no problem with losing 40% of this area, or the people who saw nothing wrong with giving cows (herbivores) an animal-based feed in the first place.

I try to never get preachy with these issues, but on one occasion I did to some RWers who were damning every social program and calling for unrestricted capitalism: I let them know that the beef they eat is heavily subsidized by the government in order to make it affordable. Of course, no one wanted to listen when you tell them that they are unconsciously being socialists.... hahahah

[flvegan]

3. I always catch hell from the uninformed

when they discover (or I tell them) that I'm a vegan. If they've heard a CNN soundbyte about soy...destroying...rain forest they assume it's my fault. Sure, I give them the facts and tell them to look it up. They hardly ever do. Head in the sand mentality.

[toddaa]

6. Farm subsidies and meat eating capitalists

It's one of those jokes that only a vegetarians get.

[amazona]

4. it is sad

I don't know how we have managed to get people to believe that a cheap animal feed is a healthy food for humans. Monsanto must be very proud of its marketing. Soy is true agricultural desert. I have stood in fields where cows graze, and there is at least some partial ability to support some birds and small wildlife. I have stood in fields of soy and they support nothing. They are completely dead. Cattle ranching, especially on public land, is a problem, no doubt about it. But it doesn't kill EVERYTHING down to the ground. I've seen Ferruginous Hawk nesting in land with herds of cattle. You won't see that in soy. Well, we've destroyed our prairie in the U.S. -- for instance, as far as I know, the Acadian Prairie in Louisiana is 100 percent extinct -- so I guess now the rest of the Americas has to get into the act. Why should a butterfly live when there is a dollar to be chased?

Bitter much? I guess I am.

On Edit -- Maybe I should clarify my point, which is, I wonder how we can expect to tell Brazil what to do, when we have not done so well ourselves.

[TO Kid]

5. Sounds like we need a tofu boycott

Not a problem for me- I haven't touched the stuff in ages.

[theoceansnerves]

7. you have no clue what you're talking about

did you even read the article?