What Cattle Ranchers Want

A rainforest may not seem like cattle country. But since the 1960s, parts of the Amazon basin have become just that. Although Amazon cattle ranchers are a small group, they own large areas of rainforest land.

Cattle Need Grasslands to Graze

Rainforest cattle graze mainly on grass. They eat the grass in an area all the way down to the dirt. Then they are moved to a new area with fresh grass to eat. Moving cattle from place to place gives grazed areas a chance to grow new grass. It also uses up a lot of land.

Today cattle can be found grazing on vast areas of grassland in the Amazon basin. Loggers cleared some of this land. Farmers and ranchers cleared the rest. Once large areas of rainforest are cleared, the trees seldom grow back. Instead, the cleared areas become grasslands. This permanent deforestation upsets many people. But it is a great benefit to ranchers

We Need Land to Feed the World

Many people argue that cattle don’t belong in a rainforest. Cattle ranchers strongly disagree. They say they are making good use of rainforest land by raising food for the world and earning money for Brazil.

Many countries import beef from Brazil. In fact, the United States is one of the biggest buyers of Brazilian beef. Some environmental groups are not happy with this trade. They estimate that 55 square feet of rainforest have to be cleared for every hamburger sold in the United States.

Like logging, cattle ranching has become an important economic activity in Brazil. In 2008, the value of beef exported to other countries was more than $3 billion. Brazil can use the money earned from beef sales to help pay its debts and take care of its citizens.