WHY AGRICULTURE LEADS TO DEFORESTATION?
- By Rifat, MAP Youth Communication Specialist
Normally when you talk about deforestation, a large-scale clearing of land-generally for agriculture, industry, or transportation - an image of black fumes from factories is created in my mind. Little did I know that farming and agriculture are one of the main reasons for deforestation. As shocking as it may sound, it is a fact that the equivalent of over 10,000 football fields are destroyed each day in the Amazon Basin alone. Each day!! That huge rate is destroying hundreds of species every minute. To make the matter worse, we are destroying rainforests which are home to 50 percent of the world's plants and animals.
Also, forests are intentionally set on fire to make more land for cattle grazing and feed crops, taking away all species life with it. This disrupts water cycle and soil fertility, also threatening people living and working with in the forest. Moreover, we are just making our planet warmer by releasing greenhouse gases from the destruction of trees. The less trees available to consume carbon, the more carbon we release which makes us more hot. Now I can go on and on and on and on regarding how evil as humans we have become to our mother planet, but it makes the point clear that deforestation is simply bad for the planet, plants, animals and humans too.
There is a way to save ourselves from this disaster. And the solution is rather simple, as meat production is the largest contributor to the world's deforestation. We have to decrease our demand for meat. It's simple if the world wants to stop deforestation we have to stop supporting companies that are making a profit out of it. Being a conscious consumer is good for the planet and for the consumer itself-by choosing local, plant-based food options instead of resource-intensive meat or dairy products. To make a more long lasting impact we must support reforestation organizations that help create forests by planting and growing more trees. Just being mindful of the choices we make as a consumer will benefit us all even if it feels small and insignificant. And this is how we can stop deforestation and finish the problems we created for ourselves.
To learn more about deforestation and how you can help -
https://sentientmedia.org/how-does-agriculture-cause-deforestation/
Normally when you talk about deforestation, a large-scale clearing of land-generally for agriculture, industry, or transportation - an image of black fumes from factories is created in my mind. Little did I know that farming and agriculture are one of the main reasons for deforestation. As shocking as it may sound, it is a fact that the equivalent of over 10,000 football fields are destroyed each day in the Amazon Basin alone. Each day!! That huge rate is destroying hundreds of species every minute. To make the matter worse, we are destroying rainforests which are home to 50 percent of the world's plants and animals.
Also, forests are intentionally set on fire to make more land for cattle grazing and feed crops, taking away all species life with it. This disrupts water cycle and soil fertility, also threatening people living and working with in the forest. Moreover, we are just making our planet warmer by releasing greenhouse gases from the destruction of trees. The less trees available to consume carbon, the more carbon we release which makes us more hot. Now I can go on and on and on and on regarding how evil as humans we have become to our mother planet, but it makes the point clear that deforestation is simply bad for the planet, plants, animals and humans too.
There is a way to save ourselves from this disaster. And the solution is rather simple, as meat production is the largest contributor to the world's deforestation. We have to decrease our demand for meat. It's simple if the world wants to stop deforestation we have to stop supporting companies that are making a profit out of it. Being a conscious consumer is good for the planet and for the consumer itself-by choosing local, plant-based food options instead of resource-intensive meat or dairy products. To make a more long lasting impact we must support reforestation organizations that help create forests by planting and growing more trees. Just being mindful of the choices we make as a consumer will benefit us all even if it feels small and insignificant. And this is how we can stop deforestation and finish the problems we created for ourselves.
To learn more about deforestation and how you can help -
https://sentientmedia.org/how-does-agriculture-cause-deforestation/
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