Are vegetarians killing the rain forest??Please tell me it isn't true!?

Question

Hi I'm a vegetarian, and recently heard two kids at my school say that vegetarians are killing the rainforest! Is this true, and if so..how?

Answer 1

no.. the rainforests are being cut down to make farmland to raise CATTLe for BEEF..

If everyone became vegetarian, and we had aLOT less cows in the world (because they was no demand for beeef) we could re-forest almost 90% of land that has been deforested.  

It takes aLOT less farmland to feed vegetarians than it takes to feed meat eaters.

Answer 2

Yes it is, according to Geophysical Research Letters and Greenpeace. It is also true that there are crops being grown in the rainforest to feed cattle. The problem is that if we all went vegetarian, it would still take a great amount of rainforest to produce increased soy crops. It is a very complex issue. There are also other concerns, such a drought from increased soy crops in the Amazon. If you wish to read the Geophysical Research Letters finding, here is the link:

http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0418-amazo...

Answer 3

Ummm>>>?? how would we be killing the rain forest?

I don't think that being a vegetarian applies to killing the rainforest.

Answer 4

Rainforests are being clearcut to plant crops of corn, soybeans, and bamboo. There are many other crops that rainforests are clearcut for which are near and dear to vegetarians and carnivores alike. Bamboo is the biggest threat to the rainforest right now.

Edit: I am not saying all veggies eat bamboo, although it is used in a lot of Chinese vegetarian dishes (yes, really)

Answer 5

Soybeans are grown on a large scale in Brazil causing environmental destruction. But vegetarians aren't the only persons using soy products.

The soy crops are a 'part' of what is hurting the rainforest, but there are other factors as well. Let me use the USA as an example. In the USA, there is a lot of subsidy farming and farmers being paid NOT to grow soybeans. The bigger picture is that we need less government controlling us and we need to return to a nation of small farms again.

Answer 6

People! We can't promote our cause as vegetarians or vegans if we are in denial that rainforests are being destroyed to produce more soy crops. We have to find better ways to produce the crops, as some others have said. But we can't be in denial about this.

"Environmental groups, such as GREENPEACE and the WWF, have reported that both soybean cultivation and the probability of increased soybean cultivation in Brazil, has destroyed huge areas of Amazon rainforest and is encouraging further deforestation."

That statement is from Greenpeace and re-quoted on Wikipedia as well. Learn before you speak up or assume. Go see for yourself.

Answer 7

well i heard that its because there is much more land needed to grow soy...not sure though

Answer 8

nah dont beleive them.....

Answer 9

It's not true. Quite the opposite. The meat industry is killing the rainforest.

See this:

http://www.goveg.com/environment-wastedR...

"One of the main common crops grown in the rainforest is soy—in fact, much of the enormous amount of soy that is needed to feed the world’s farmed animals now comes from the rainforest. (The soy that is used in veggie burgers, tofu, and soy milk in the United States is almost exclusively grown domestically, not in the Amazon.) A whopping 80 percent of the world's soy crop is used to feed farmed animals."

Answer 10

Lol, no they're not.

Answer 11

Are you kidding me? No.

It takes way more land to raise a bunch of cattle then some veggies. Tell them to do a bit of research.

Answer 12

No.  It's not true.  The rainforest is in danger for a variety of reasons, but vegetarians are not one of them.

Remember, vegetarians don't eat anything that omnivores/meat-eaters don't eat as well.

Answer 13

NO its not true. My friend told me that vegetarians actually hurt the earth because we eat all the trees and plants, which lowers the oxygen level... yes. Because vegetarians eat TREES. she doesn't know what she is talking about.

And neither do those kids. Their kids. Let them ahve their fun thinking their right.

Your diet is helping the enviorment. So just ignore them, trust me. :) your the smart one

Answer 14

Thats a load of rubbish!!! Actually people who eat at mcdonalds are killing the amazon as mcdonalds cuts down thetrees to put cows in there.

Answer 15

No, if anything, meat eaters are destroying the rain forest.  Untold acres are sacfriced each year to raise and feed cattle so cheap beef can be exported to the US.

For lots of solid information on the negative environmental impact of meat, read John Robbins's books "Diet for a New America" and "The Food Revolution."

Answer 16

Cows take up more space (therefore more rainfofest space) than plants.

Answer 17

Over population is killing the rain forests. I try to buy all my veggies locally. I also avoid products made of bamboo or exotic rain forest lunber.

Answer 18

Completely untrue. It's the authors that are killing the rainforests. All that writing, and thinking up more stuff to write, and then writing. No, seriously, being a vegan is earth friendly, so you can relax.

Answer 19

Absolutely not, in fact, a vegetarian diet is much better for the environment (rainforests included) rather than an omnivorous diet.

"One of the main common crops grown in the rainforest is soy—in fact, much of the enormous amount of soy that is needed to feed the world’s farmed animals now comes from the rainforest. (The soy that is used in veggie burgers, tofu, and soy milk in the United States is almost exclusively grown domestically, not in the Amazon.) A whopping 80 percent of the world's soy crop is used to feed farmed animals.3 It is hugely inefficient to feed crops to farmed animals instead of eating the crops ourselves; it takes up to 16 pounds of grain to produce just 1 pound of animal flesh.4 If we simply ate soy and other plant foods ourselves instead of feeding them to farmed animals, we would not need to raise nearly as much crops and we could eliminate the need to decimate the rainforest."  -  Goveg.com

Answer 20

no its not true. the kids at school usually have no clue what there talking about! there the ones killing the rain forest.

Answer 21

Huh. Well, I am also a vegetarian, and feel comfortable claiming that vegetarians, on average, do far less damage to the land than carnivores-- in terms of the intensity of resource use (water, land, food) and pollution (from all the waste animals like pigs, chicken, and cattle produce). You will not do the rainforest any good by eating animals. Of course, you should always consider many other life-cycle factors: are you buying organic? is your food grown locally or flown across the world, etc?

But to answer your question: I have heard a similar thing, and it has to do with soy production-- the stuff that is in tofu as well as many other products. Many acres of rainforest are converted to agricultural land for the production of soy.

See: http://www.rainforestrelief.org/What_to_...

This is probably what the kids were talking about. The more you are aware of where your food is coming from and how it is produced, the easier it will be for you to be sure you have a minimal environmental impact!

Answer 22

soy beans and corn demand has increased. Both of these crops are feed to animals which are than eaten. - Also the rainforest is cut to make area for raising cattle for companies such as McDonalds, Burger King and other fast food as well as resturants that use cows in their food.

Also there recent biofuel as also increased the demand for these crops.

So vegetarians nor vegans are not responsible for the destruction od the rainforest. Its is the mutlination companies that make a lot of profit from growing crops and cows there.

Answer 23

Theoretically, burn clearing is using in a great majority of S.American countries for agriculture. It clears an area quickly of vegetation, leaves nutritive ash behind, and allows for rapid planting. However, it also leads to a lack of biodiversity, soil erosion, short term fertility, and ultimately the destruction of swaths of the rain forest.

So yes, some of your veggie goodies are bound to have come from areas where this kind of agriculture was practiced. Where else do you think they got the land to plant and raise those crops?

Answer 24

Livvye said it better that I could have. She is 100% right. Being a vegetarian is not at all harmful to the envirement nor can it ever damage or kill our rain forests.

Answer 25

Nope. Animal eaters, fires, global warming, and hunters are. Veg*an are none of that. Mass production of soy harms the rain forest, but soy is not the only veg*an food, and many non-veg eat soy products, as well it is one of the main feeds for the animals about to be slaughtered so they can get their protein. It is of course best to eat organic and locally grown foods.

Answer 26

It would have been better to ask those kids what they meant. They said it not us.

a few comments:

Bamboo shoots are delicious. and many indegenous peoples in Asia use bamboo as a "cooking pot"

An increasing number of rainforest areas are being cut down to make room for soy and other crop planting/farming. The standard vegetarian friendly line is the soy is mostly used a cattle feed. That is true. But soy is not the only crop planted in cleared rainforest areas. Coffee, cacao (chocolate), sugar. corn are also planted there and with the possible exception of corn, these are almost exclusively for human consumption.

But omnis eat veggies too. And the trees cut are made into lumber that ALL use, veggie and omni alike.

The issue is simply too complex to make any blanket statement favoring one side or the other