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A 2009 Greenpeace report found that the cattle sector in the Brazilian Amazon, supported by the international beef and leather trades, was responsible for about 80% of all deforestation in the region,[3] or about 14% of the world's total annual deforestation, making it the largest single driver of deforestation in the world.[4] According to a 2006 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 70% of formerly forested land in the Amazon, and 91% of land deforested since 1970, is used for livestock pasture.[5][19]
Johnnyw75-
You have to watch out a little with deforestation arguments. While the rainforest is one thing, I think someone has worked out that the northern forests of Russia actually contribute to warming because their dark hue absorbs heat rather than reflect it. Their comparatively slow growth means they do not process as much CO2 and so are net contributors to warming.
This is not to say that chopping down rainforests is fine, it's more to just point out that this whole thing is really fooking complicated.
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Now you're just picking a particular forest that supports your argument.
Only "about 14% of the world's total annual deforestation" though.
Scrabble
hippy
Source?
"Subsistence farming is responsible for 48% of deforestation; commercial agriculture is responsible for 32%; logging is responsible for 14%, and fuel wood removals make up 5%."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforestation#Causes
"subsistence farming entails a largely vegetarian way of life"
http://www.countercurrents.org/goodchild090111.htm