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CHART 1 • Beef is the primary driver of deforestation
This is quite a shocking chart from Our World in Data. Beef production has been the biggest driver of deforestation this century. The data says it all. Around 128 million hectares of forest have been cleared to make space for agriculture and forest plantations. To put this into perspective, that’s an area five times the size of the United Kingdom. Most of this has occurred in Brazil and other parts of Latin America, where forests are cleared to make way for grazing pastures.
Oilseeds such as soy and palm oil were the second-largest driver. The majority is concentrated in Latin America when it comes to soy, and in Indonesia and Malaysia for palm oil. However, it’s worth noting that while deforestation for palm oil was high in the early 2000s and 2010s, it has since fallen quite considerably.
Source: Our world in data
Forest plantations are another driver of deforestation. These are manicured plantations used to grow certain cash crops, such as cocoa and coffee. This type of deforestation has been concentrated in Africa, where yields have not grown quickly enough to offset rising demand.
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