Global Capitalism Is Destroying Habitats for Rare Species in Brazil, Study Shows

[Judi Lynn]

A new study shows how international soybean markets are degrading one of the world's most biodiverse regions.
By Maddie Bender
Oct 28 2019, 2:00pm

International soybean markets are leading to the destruction of habitats of rare plants and animals in Brazil and putting species at risk, according to a new study. In addition to confirming that capitalism is truly the worst, the study provides a method for holding countries and companies accountable to zero deforestation policies.

Brazil’s Cerrado, a savanna that is home to 5% of the world’s plants and animals, has lost nearly half of its natural vegetation since the 1970s to cattle grazing and agricultural expansion. Now the world’s largest soybean producer and exporter, Brazil grows over half of its soybeans in the Cerrado.

As a study published on Monday in the journal PNAS shows, all of this agricultural development encroaches on the land that animal and plant species have to thrive on.

“Often we talk about deforestation and carbon emissions, and they’re so ethereal,” said Paz Durán, a co-author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity in Chile. “One role of the [study’s] metric is to translate deforestation into something else, which in this case is the risk of losing beautiful species.”

More:
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pa7w77/global-capitalism-is-destroying-habitats-for-rare-species-in-brazil-study-shows

[mr_lebowski]

1. To me, 'Global Capitalism' is synonymous with 'too many friggin human beings on the planet' nt