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It's not to grow beef, it's to make money. If we all went vegan tomorrow, they'd grow soybeans there.

Now lets start to argue over what plants to replace the rainforest with and we've lost to point.

The rain forest is being destroyed for greed. Fix greed and you can fix the planet.

Human consumption of soybeans requires less farmland than human consumption of beef, because humans can eat the plants the cows would've needed to eat.

So less rainforest needs to be felled for the same amount of nutrition.

Arguing what the land should be used for is the point. Some uses are more destructive than others.

"If we didn't put gasoline in our vehicles, we'd just put something else in them, so arguing over what to put in our vehicles for fuel is besides the point."

Whether they grow soybeans or beef or doing whatever they are cutting the same amount of trees. The crop choice doesn't change the fact that forests aren't protected, and the market will expand to fill available space like a gas.

Have you ever cut a tree? It's hard work. No one clears forest unless it makes for profit. If beef doesn't sell, there's no need for excess farmland.

If beef doesn't sell the landowner will grow something else that does sell. They own the land, they don't want it to sit idle.

Brazil is well within their rights to say, "Fuck you. Pay me."

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