Soya production is becoming one of the main reasons for the continued destruction of the rainforest and the conversion of it to agriculture. I know that alot of the soya is taken by china for animal feed, but where do vegetarians and vegans fit into this cycle of destruction.... I have never seen so many soya based products on the shelves of shops - is this healthy lifestyle that is increasing in rich countries increasing demand for soya and in turn leading to even greater deforestation. Anybody got any facts and figures?
The issue is not soy. Those people will cut down the rainforest and farm ANYTHING that is profitable. It just happens that soy intake has increased drastically with the health food kick, increasing demand for quality soy, therefore making soy farming more productive. If raising cattle was more profitable, they'd be doing that instead (and they DO). Also remember that any meat based diet is basically guaranteed to consume twice as much resources as a plant based diet. The cattle themselves need water and land and the animal feed also needs land and water to grow. The issue isn't a particular product (no, not even meat really), it's that it's more profitable and easier for these people to cut down the rain forest and farm it. If that weren't the case then they wouldn't do it. How do you fix the problem? No idea, honestly. Maybe some pharmaceutical company should step up and buy millions of acres of the rain forest. After all the rain forest is a primary source for new medicinal species.
How do veg*ans fit into this cycle destruction? The same as everyone one else, ppl need to eat and with that comes the pressure to convert forests to agriculture cos not everyone can grow their own food and even if they could that takes land so no matter what, virgin forests, be it rainforests, boreal, whatever, ppl will clear it for agriculture. The root of the problem is there are way too many ppl. Preach all u want about the ecological merits of eating lower on the food chain but as long as the population keeps growing there will be pressure to convert forests to agriculture, industry, housing, etc. Veg*ans put less pressure on deforestation BUT the pressure is still there nonetheless.
90% of the soy grown in the US is used to feed livestock (and 80% of the corn and 70% of the grain). If no one ate meat, then the ground currently used to grow livestock food could be used to produce human food, reducing or eliminating the need to grow soy in areas that were once rain forest. Also, nearly all the soy grown in deforested areas is used to feed cattle that are grazed in deforested areas. Those cattle are not being raised for the consumption of the people in the deforested nation; they are being raised so people in the "First World" can have cheaper hamburger. It is impossible to live on the planet and have no impact. The best we can do is to strive to have a smaller impact. The single best thing you can do to lessen your impact on the environment is to go Vegan.
If directed to myself then my answer is that I am confident that my energy and general resource consumption is below average and I make a daily concerted effort to make sure that it stays so. What has considering both sides of the nuclear debate got to do with that (besides we all use energy). Oh and I'm a vegetarian. Can you justify what you do?
well then if ur veg*an then u may take note that your choices is contributing to less deforestation than a meat eater. The increasing demand is due to an increasing demand for beef which is due to increasing population AND increasing wealth in developing nations, it would seem that as countries like China as they get more developed, their animal consumption rate also rises.
It all depends on what you believe is more important, IF you believe that one is more important than the other-environmental footprint, or animal product consumption. I think we all understand that we have to live on earth, and that being the case, we should try to do the best we can, and still be able to live. If you have indeed found the case with soy and the rainforest to be true "Anybody got any facts and figures?"(do your own homework), then don't eat soy products, and ,as the same with being vegan, try to show others, with verifiable fact and reasoning, that eating soy is detrimental. That doesn't seem like such a problem to me. You don't eat meat, because to do so would violate your conscience, so don't eat soy if it does the same.
you bet I can. been veg since you were in diapers, smallest footprint possible, moving to 80 percent local diet (local meaning 300 mile circle) fully off grid by 2015, I promote renewables in a part time gig, we are carlite, negative population growth, haven't bought new clothing with the exception of some locally made, since 1996, what we do buy is for the long haul: 10 years or better, including shoes and used cars. NO NUKES, more passive solar... you?
