Quarter of Global Deforestation Traced to Brazilian Beef, With Domestic Demand Driving 85%

Beef production is responsible for 41% of global deforestation between 2001 and 2023, with almost two-thirds of that occurring in Brazil. This makes Brazilian beef accountable for a quarter of all deforestation worldwide during the two-decade period, mainly due to pasture expansion at the expense of the Amazon rainforest and the Cerrado savanna. Despite 15% of the deforestation being attributed to export markets, 85% is driven by domestic consumption, with China and the United States being the largest importers.

Efforts to address deforestation caused by domestic consumption have gained traction, such as the ProVeg Brazil’s Cultiva Project, which supports livestock producers converting land to plant-based agroforestry. The study utilized the Deforestation Driver and Carbon Emission (DeDuCE) model, developed by researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, to analyze the impact of agriculture on deforestation. Agriculture-driven deforestation released approximately 41 billion tonnes of CO2 between 2001 and 2022, highlighting the need for action in producer countries to effectively reduce deforestation.