| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Tuttles Almanac" |
| Date: |
07 Apr 2006 08:38:24 AM |
| Object: |
Greenpeace: McDonald's Harming the Amazon |
Greenpeace: McDonald's harming the Amazon
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2006-04-06-mcdonalds-amazon_x.htm
RIO DE JANEIRO — Greenpeace on Thursday said McDonald's
was fueling Amazon rainforest destruction by using soybeans
grown in the region as feed for chickens that end up served
in the fast-food chain's European restaurants.
"Fast Food giants like McDonald's are trashing the Amazon
for cheap meat. Every time you buy a Chicken McNugget you
could be taking a bite out of the Amazon," Greenpeace forests
campaign coordinator Gavin Edwards said by telephone from London.
Soybean production in the Amazon has skyrocketed in
recent years thanks to growing international demand
and the development, by Brazilian-government labs,
of a type of soybean that can grow in the region's poor
soil and punishing sun.
Environmentalists say that soybeans' success has driven up
the value of cleared jungle, leading to a cycle in which
cattle ranchers sell off pasture land to soybean farmers
and then clear new areas, selling the wood to loggers.
The southern Amazon region, where soybean production is
growing most quickly, is also notorious for using so-called
"debt slaves" to clear away jungle brush to prepare land for
pasture and planting.
Debt slavery involves ranchers employing poorly paid workers
and then forcing them to pay exorbitant prices for basic goods
and transportation, ensnaring them in ever-deepening debt.
Greenpeace said its report is the result of a yearlong
investigation using satellite images, aerial surveillance,
previously unreleased government documents and on-the-ground
monitoring to track Amazon soybeans.
"We've tracked shipments from farms that break the law to
various silos and various ships into Liverpool and then
followed the trucks to companies that produce chickens
for McDonald's," Edwards said.
Edwards said that while American corporations like
Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill were responsible for
distributing the soybeans, most of the soy from the Amazon
goes to Europe and China, because the U.S. is largely
self-sufficient in terms of soy production.
Scientists say the deforestation reduces the area's rich
biodiversity and contributes to global warming. Burning
in the Brazilian Amazon releases about 370 million tons
of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere every year,
about 5.4% of the world total.
Brazil's rainforest is the size of western Europe and
covers 60% of the country's territory. Experts say as
much as 20% of its 1.6 million square miles (4.1 million
square kilometers) has already been destroyed by
development, logging and farming.
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And wait for the cheap biodiesal and ethanol.
http://www.bushisamoron.org/images/bush_segway.jpg
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