The escalation of deforestation that the world has witnessed in the last decades is one of the greatest environmental challenges we currently face. The World Rainforest Day, celebrated on June 22nd each year, is a chance to raise awareness about the urgent need to protect these ecosystems, which are vital for our existence on Earth and a measure needed to prevent future pandemics.
In 2019, the world lost an area equivalent to a football pitch of primary rainforest every six seconds, according to data from the University of Maryland, released on the Global Forest Watch platform. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) warns that 75% of all emerging human pathogens are zoonotic, meaning they are infections originated in animals. Activities like deforestation, landscape fragmentation, habitat encroachment increase the risk of disease transmission. “If we are to “build back better” from the COVID-19 pandemic, the global recovery process will need to recognize the intimate link between people and nature”, declares the UN body.
"We are destroying our forests and putting our future at risk, for food products such as meat and industrial products made with palm oil, that aren’t necessary for us to have a healthy and balanced diet", says Wichayapat Piromsan ,the Thailand-based campaign manager of Sinergia Animal.
In 2019, the world lost an area equivalent to a football pitch of primary rainforest every six seconds, according to data from the University of Maryland, released on the Global Forest Watch platform. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) warns that 75% of all emerging human pathogens are zoonotic, meaning they are infections originated in animals. Activities like deforestation, landscape fragmentation, habitat encroachment increase the risk of disease transmission. “If we are to “build back better” from the COVID-19 pandemic, the global recovery process will need to recognize the intimate link between people and nature”, declares the UN body.
"We are destroying our forests and putting our future at risk, for food products such as meat and industrial products made with palm oil, that aren’t necessary for us to have a healthy and balanced diet", says Wichayapat Piromsan ,the Thailand-based campaign manager of Sinergia Animal.
Meat, soy and palm oil are the main agricultural drivers for rainforest degradation
Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Bolivia, Peru, Malaysia, and Colombia were the countries with more rainforest loss in 2019 (in order). The common thing among all of them is that agriculture is the main driver of deforestation. In Latin American countries, 59% of the deforestation between 2001 and 2018 was driven by agricultural goods produced for trade, mostly beef and soy production.
Large forest areas across the Amazonian and Cerrado Forests are being replaced with grain crops, such as soy, that will feed animals raised for meat, eggs, and dairy products worldwide. Around three-quarters of global soybeans are used for animal feed.
"Brazil is the largest soybean exporter in the world, responding for 44.5% of total exports, and Thailand is the third-largest importer of Brazilian soy. As these grains are mostly used to feed animals raised for food, it means that when we eat animal products here, we're contributing to the deforestation in South America", states Wichayapat.
But this is not the only danger. Something similar is happening in Thailand where sustainable subsistence cultivation is being replaced by intensive agriculture. In the Chiang Mai region, traditional crops are shifting to large scale agribusiness operations, mainly corn crops to feed the growing livestock industry.
In Southeast Asia, an impressive 80% of the deforestation between 2001 and 2018 was driven by agricultural goods produced for trade, from which the highlight is the palm oil. In Indonesia and other equatorial countries such as Malaysia, palm oil production is a major driver of deforestation with dwindling expanses of tropical rainforest. Palm oil is the most widely consumed vegetable oil on the planet, found in many industrialized products sold in supermarkets such as ice creams, noodles, chocolate, margarine, cookies and bread.
The protection of forests is in our hands
The importance of forests is undeniable not only to prevent new pandemics, but also to many other factors that are crucial to our future existence. Although tropical forests cover only 7% of the Earth's land surface, they contain more than half of the world's species and are known as the most genetically diverse terrestrial communities on Earth. They provide a lot of the freshwater we drink, are the homes of many indigenous peoples, protect the land against flood, drought, and erosion and support millions of livelihoods.
Besides that, combating deforestation is key to mitigate climate change. If tropical deforestation were a country, it would rank third in carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions, only behind China and the United States of America.
"Of course public policies are essential at this critical moment. But it's also in the hands of consumers to make more conscious choices and avoid the decline of rainforests:reducing or
eliminating the consumption of meat, dairy and eggs, and avoiding products with palm oil on their compositions are some of the best ways to contribute", suggests Wichayapat.
The international NGO Sinergia Animal proposes a 21 Vegan Challenge, in which participants receive daily orientation, recipes and nutritional advice on how to switch to a healthy and sustainable plant-based diet. The best part: it's free. Register now at www.thaichallenge22.org.
The organization is also calling the attention of national leaders to take urgent measures to prevent new pandemics, being plans to stop deforestation one of them. Thais can sign the online petition at www.change.org/pandemicsthailand.
Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Bolivia, Peru, Malaysia, and Colombia were the countries with more rainforest loss in 2019 (in order). The common thing among all of them is that agriculture is the main driver of deforestation. In Latin American countries, 59% of the deforestation between 2001 and 2018 was driven by agricultural goods produced for trade, mostly beef and soy production.
Large forest areas across the Amazonian and Cerrado Forests are being replaced with grain crops, such as soy, that will feed animals raised for meat, eggs, and dairy products worldwide. Around three-quarters of global soybeans are used for animal feed.
"Brazil is the largest soybean exporter in the world, responding for 44.5% of total exports, and Thailand is the third-largest importer of Brazilian soy. As these grains are mostly used to feed animals raised for food, it means that when we eat animal products here, we're contributing to the deforestation in South America", states Wichayapat.
But this is not the only danger. Something similar is happening in Thailand where sustainable subsistence cultivation is being replaced by intensive agriculture. In the Chiang Mai region, traditional crops are shifting to large scale agribusiness operations, mainly corn crops to feed the growing livestock industry.
In Southeast Asia, an impressive 80% of the deforestation between 2001 and 2018 was driven by agricultural goods produced for trade, from which the highlight is the palm oil. In Indonesia and other equatorial countries such as Malaysia, palm oil production is a major driver of deforestation with dwindling expanses of tropical rainforest. Palm oil is the most widely consumed vegetable oil on the planet, found in many industrialized products sold in supermarkets such as ice creams, noodles, chocolate, margarine, cookies and bread.
The protection of forests is in our hands
The importance of forests is undeniable not only to prevent new pandemics, but also to many other factors that are crucial to our future existence. Although tropical forests cover only 7% of the Earth's land surface, they contain more than half of the world's species and are known as the most genetically diverse terrestrial communities on Earth. They provide a lot of the freshwater we drink, are the homes of many indigenous peoples, protect the land against flood, drought, and erosion and support millions of livelihoods.
Besides that, combating deforestation is key to mitigate climate change. If tropical deforestation were a country, it would rank third in carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions, only behind China and the United States of America.
"Of course public policies are essential at this critical moment. But it's also in the hands of consumers to make more conscious choices and avoid the decline of rainforests:reducing or
eliminating the consumption of meat, dairy and eggs, and avoiding products with palm oil on their compositions are some of the best ways to contribute", suggests Wichayapat.
The international NGO Sinergia Animal proposes a 21 Vegan Challenge, in which participants receive daily orientation, recipes and nutritional advice on how to switch to a healthy and sustainable plant-based diet. The best part: it's free. Register now at www.thaichallenge22.org.
The organization is also calling the attention of national leaders to take urgent measures to prevent new pandemics, being plans to stop deforestation one of them. Thais can sign the online petition at www.change.org/pandemicsthailand.