SUMMARY: The global hunger for beef and soya fans the flames of the fires which burn the Amazon Rainforest, destroying this rich ecosystem and leaving nutrient-weak farm fields in their wake. Brazil is the fourth largest emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet, with 75% of those coming from the destruction of the rainforest. The Amazon Rainforest is as large as the 48 contiguous United States, but since the 1970s, more than 17% of it has been lost to deforestation. The peril which faces the Amazon Rainforest is one that everyone in the world will be eventually affected by through global warming.
