The Link between the Beef Industry and

Deforestation

Elizabeth Fields
Quantitative Literacy
December 10, 2015

When someone orders a cheeseburger or a steak, he or she

might pause to consider the ethics of killing a cow, but he or she will
probably not consider the ethics of deforestation. The link between
beef production and deforestation is a problematic facet of the meat
industry that many of us are completely unaware of. As a nation, our
excessive beef consumption is having a direct impact on our earths
health and resources.
I chose this topic because it is relevant to most people, including
myself. 95% of the American population consumes meat, and in 2012
the average American consumed 71.2 pounds of red meat, including
beef (Molla, wsj.com). For the sake of simplicity, this paper will focus
strictly on deforestation as it relates to beef consumption, but there are
plenty of health and ethical reasons why Americans need to reevaluate
their intake of beef. This paper will explore from a mathematical
perspective, the dangers of deforestation and the dangers we are
posing to our own species through over consumption of beef.
Raising cows takes a substantial amount of land; meat
companies are clearing large amounts of rainforest to make space for
cows to live and graze in order to meet our high demand for beef. In
fact, almost 60% of all agricultural land is used for beef production
(ucsusa.org). That statistic alone is jarring of all the land in the world
that is used to raise crops and animals for consumption, over half of
that land is solely being used for beef. What is even more astounding is

that while beef production may account for almost 60% of all
agricultural land, beef makes up less than 2% of the worlds calories
(ucusa.org). To top that off, America consumes 25% of the worlds
beef. (Ariskan, ecofriendlyplanet.com). How can we justify using so
many resources for so little output? Especially when less than 5% of
the worlds population is consuming a quarter of that output? Simply
put, it is wasteful. Deforestation driven by the beef industry is having a
direct impact on millions of other species, climate change, and
ultimately our own species.
Why is deforestation such a critical problem that we need to
address? Why does it matter that each year, rainforest areas the size
of Panama are being destroyed (environment.nationalgeographic.com).
Rainforests are home to millions of species of plants and animals,
many of which can only survive in the habitat that rainforests provide;
it is estimated that 70% of earths animals live in rainforests
(environment.nationalgeographic.com). Deforestation driven by beef
production plays an active, daily role in killing off plants and animals. It
is important to note that deforestation typically does not have an
immediate effect on a species population, although tree dwelling
organisms are often killed during the destruction of rainforests. Rather,
the lack of food and shelter provided by trees causes competition
within species to rise exponentially, resulting in falling breeding rates
and ultimately rising extinction rates. The National Wildlife Federation

stated, Every day, an estimated 100 plant and animal species are lost
to deforestationA conservative estimate of the current extinction rate
indicates that about 27,000 species a year are being lost
(webofcreation.org). Scientists approximate that 10 million species of
animals, plants, and insects live in rainforests
(environment.nationalgeographic.com). If 10 million species currently
exist in rainforests and 27,000 species are being lost per year and if
this rate of extinction continues, then in approximately 370 years, all
10 million species will be extinct, leaving us with only 30% of todays
known species.
In addition to the loss of species, deforestation related to the
beef industry contributes greatly to climate change and global
warming. All trees absorb and contain carbon dioxide (CO2) and every
time a tree is cut down, it releases that CO2 into the atmosphere. Such
extensive and extreme deforestation results in mass quantities of CO2
coming together in the atmosphere as greenhouse gases, causing
global warming (Ariskan, ecofriendlyplanet.com). Trees also block
sunlight, which keeps the soil moist and cool, maintaining stable
temperatures. Additionally, the canopy provided by trees help retain
heat at night, also maintaining stable temperatures. Without the
blockage that trees create, temperatures become extreme
(environment.nationalgeographic.com). Furthermore, the cows that live
in the pastures created by deforestation produce high amounts of

methane, which also contribute to global warming. The International

Business Times states that methane is, a greenhouse gas 21 times
better at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. It goes on to say,
Livestocks noxious flatulence accounts for a large portion of the
methane gas being released into the atmosphere (Ross, ibtimes.com).
As ridiculous as it may sound, cows flatulence is a large contributor to
greenhouse gases, which cause global warming and climate change.
The more deforestation that occurs and the more space cleared for
raising cows, more cows will be raised and more methane will be
produced.
Perhaps the greatest argument against the fight against the beef
industry is the economic value that the beef industry has. For example,
for the last five years, Brazil has been the largest exporter of beef
throughout the world (Duran, thebrazilbusiness.com). Its economy
relies heavily on the beef industry. One sources states, Cattle beef
industry generates about 360,00 direct jobs as well as thousands of
jobs among inputs suppliers (Duran, thebrazilbusiness.com). While
this argument is understandable, it is a shortsighted argument. While
the beef industry can provide jobs now, what will happen when climate
change causes natural disasters, or leaves the world with insufficient
water and resources? These changes have already been put into effect
and will only continue to progress as the rate of deforestation

continues. No one will be able to work if there is no food, water, or

resources.
With all of this information, what can be done? The solution is
simple: Eat less beef. When the demand is reduced, the supply is
reduced. The less people that eat beef or if people choose to eat less
beef, less space will be needed in order to raise cows which will result
in less deforestation. Less deforestation means less species being
killed off and less greenhouse gases being emitted into the
atmosphere.
In America alone, if every beef consumer cut their intake in half,
overall beef consumption in the world would go down by 12.5%. An
American would consume 35.6 pounds of beef as opposed to 71.2
pounds, which would have tremendous health benefits. Ultimately,
Americans need to reduce their intake of beef in order to preserve
rainforests and all the benefits that come from rainforests. Even if it is
as simple as choosing chicken as an alternative once in a while or
being vegetarian just one day a week if every American made a small
adjustment to their intake of beef, deforestation would be reduced.

Works Cited:
Solutions for Deforestation Free Meat.
http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/solutions/stopdeforestation/solutions-for-deforestation-freemeat.html#.VmnJPGSrS1s Jun. 2012. Web. Dec. 2015
Ariskan, Sandra Rainforest and Beef Industry. http://1stecofriendlyplanet.com/08/rainforest-and-beef-industry/. n.d. Web. Dec.
2015
Modern-Day Plague.
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/globalwarming/deforestation-overview/ n.d. Web. Dec. 2015

Problem: Extinction of Plant and Animal Species

http://www.webofcreation.org/Earth%20Problems/species.htm n.d.
n.d.Web. Dec. 2015
Ross, Philip Cow Farts Have Larger Greenhouse Gas Impact Than
Previously Thought; Methane Pushes Change
http://www.ibtimes.com/cow-farts-have-larger-greenhouse-gas-impactpreviously-thought-methane-pushes-climate-change-1487502 Nov.
2013. Web. Dec. 2015
Molla, Rani How Much Meat Do Americans? Then and Now
http://blogs.wsj.com/numbers/how-much-meat-do-americans-eat-thenand-now-1792/ Oct. 2014. Web. Dec. 2015
Duran, Rebeca The Brazilian Cattle Industry
http://thebrazilbusiness.com/article/the-brazilian-cattle-industry Mar.
2013. Web. Dec. 2015