A company called VeganNation purchased 15,000 acres of Amazon rainforest for preservation after gathering $10 million through fundraising efforts. Furthermore, VeganNation is heavily involved in the blockchain industry and launched their own cryptocurrency, called VeganCoin in 2018.
VeganNation co-founder and CEO Isaac Thomas announced the purchase and pointed to the connection between cattle ranching and the controversy about fires in the Amazon.
That's one of the reasons why many vegans are currently taking up the cause in the Amazon because they see a link between the deforestation and the global beef industry.
Ane Alencar, the scientific director of Brazilian NGO IPAM (Institute of Environmental Research in Amazonia), had identified the cattle ranchers as the culprits of the fires.
According to a Yale study, cattle ranching is responsible for roughly 80% of the Amazon’s deforestation. Another study estimates that nearly 50% of Brazilian livestock are raised in fields that were once rainforest.
Brazil is the world’s top exporter of beef, accounting for 20% of global beef exports. Brazil’s largest customer is China, but companies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe also purchase from Brazil.
Many products that are consumed in the western world are harvested from the Amazon. This includes oil, beef, paper products, and items like palm oil. These days it is not too difficult to find out where the products you buy are being sourced from, and many environmentally conscious brands advertise cruelty-free, locally-cultivated products.
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