Beef tops deforestation chart as palm oil and soy follow
New Nature Food analysis links two decades of forest loss to commodity farming, with beef the leading driver (about 120 million acres destroyed, mostly in the tropics like the Amazon) and beef-related emissions exceeding three times the US’s annual total. Oil palm and soy also cleared millions of tropical forests, while staples such as maize, rice, and cassava can have large footprints. The study suggests reducing beef can help rainforests, though global demand remains strong and data limitations complicate measurement of cocoa/coffee impacts.