How Factory Farms in America Ignite Fires in Brazil

[Judi Lynn]

By Devatha P. Nair October 25, 2021

Chances are that the fires burning in the Amazon did not cross our minds as we sat down to a breakfast of scrambled eggs on a Sunday morning. Nor did we think of the jaguar with her blackened paws lying helplessly asphyxiated in the Pantanal wetlands as she tried to outrun multiple fires, amidst the 700,000 hectares ablaze, or the plight of the burnt caiman, found with his mouth agape in a last desperate scream as the flames engulfed him.

The fact remains: The fires burning in Brazil’s Amazon, Pantanal, and Cerrado biomes are done so on purpose by livestock farmers to turn dense forest into pasture and soybean crops. These fires put millions of wild animals in harm’s way, and they are directly connected to the growing demand for meat and dairy products. The fires in Brazil are part of a global problem, one which highlights the direct link between deforestation and loss of ecosystems with dietary choices made thousands of miles away. Above all, the blazes reiterate the sheer unsustainability of animal agriculture and tragedy within our current food systems.

“Seeing the impact of these fires on the environment and wildlife is devastating,” says Joao Almeida, Executive Director of World Animal Protection (WAP), Brazil. “We have seen baby deer with their legs burned, animals such as monkeys and jaguars completely carbonized, and others with their paws burnt, completely dehydrated or starving.”

According to Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE), the fires have already destroyed homes and farms and sent humans to hospital for respiratory problems. And while the fires leave behind the charred remains of vertebrate and invertebrate animals, they may have irrevocably destroyed the habitat for millions of other animals.

More:
https://sentientmedia.org/how-factory-farms-in-america-ignite-fires-in-brazil/

Also posted in Environment and energy:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1127148655