Our increasing demand for inexpensive beef for human, pet and livestock food has had a direct effect on tropical forests. Ranching is now a major cause of forest clearance in Costa Rica and many Amazon countries. Why is converting tropical forests to cattle pastures so destructive? First, cattle ranching promotes the concentration of large landholdings into the hands of a few people, many owned or operated by corporations outside the countries with tropical forests. The eviction of renters/small landholders, and their inability to compete for land purchases, equipment, fuel and credit drive the landless peasant and/or farmer to migrate to urban areas. If these displaced people have to move to new wilderness areas, they continue to contribute to the deforestation problem. Second, cattle production is the least productive use of the land. Fertility of the land often wears out after only 3 to 5 years reducing profit. The soil is commonly trampled, overgrazed, oxidized and sun-baked. Often poisonous weeds move into the pasture and eventually overtake the successful grasses.
Finally, it takes a full 4 years before steers are ready for slaughter at 900 plus pounds.
Research into the real costs of converting Amazon rainforests into cattle pasture has produced some staggering statistics. When the numbers are examined, the environmental cost is half a ton of rainforest per hamburger. Expressed as forest area, the cost is 67 square feet - more than 6.25 square meters of forest - for every hamburger sold. Against these statistics, consider how many years it took for the forest to evolve and the thousands of plant and animal species now facing the threat of extinction.
