Cattle ranching eating up Latin American forests.

• Author: Nierenberg, Danielle
• Position: ENVIRONMENTAL INTELLIGENCE

Cattle ranching is the leading cause of forest destruction in Latin America, according to a June 2005 study by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). By 2010, reports FAO, more than 1 million hectares of forest will be lost in Central America, 62 percent of it to ranching. In South America, a staggering 18 million hectares will be lost, 70 percent to ranching. Even the region's "protected" areas are at risk: the Maya Biosphere in Guatemala and at least three national parks in South America are expected to have land cleared for pasture.

FAO's latest findings echo a report released by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in April 2004. According to CIFOR, rapid growth in Brazilian beef sales overseas has accelerated destruction of Brazil's Amazon rainforest. Total forest loss increased from 41.5 million hectares in 1990 to 58.7 million hectares in 2000. In just 10 years, says CIFOR, an area twice the size of Portugal was cleared, most of it for pasture.

Soybean production for animal feed is contributing to deforestation as well. In 2004 alone, more than 2.6 million hectares of Brazilian rainforest were...