Leather: Impact of Cattle Ranching
✺ In 2024 Our World in Data reported that expanding pasture land accounted for 72% of deforestation in Brazil. This post is a follow on from yesterday's post on illegal deforestation in the Amazon as a result of gold mining. In another post I came across, the author was talking about the importance of the Amazon as a carbon sink, but how this function is degrading- so I became even more curious.
╰┈➤ The original statistic I found on cattle ranching came from WWF who stated that "Extensive cattle ranching is the number one culprit of deforestation in virtually every Amazon country, and it accounts for 80% of current deforestation". However, they quoted a study from 2008. I had recently seen posts around regeneration of forests in the region, so wanted to find a more recent statistic. According to Global Forest Watch from 2002 to 2023, Brazil lost 30.7 million hectares of humid primary forest.
╰┈➤ In 2024, The Guardian reported that a Brazillian rancher was ordered to pay $50 million in climate compensation for the illegal deforestation of the Amazon. Captured by satellite- "the rancher used chainsaws to clear vegetation, then set fires to clear the land and finally planted grass to establish pasture for raising cattle".
╰┈➤ How big is the deforestation problem? Our World in Data reports that the world loses 5 million hectares of forest every year, with 95% of this occurring in the tropics. Just how big is 5 million hectares of forest?- it's the equivalent of 7 million football pitches.
╰┈➤ Let's get to the traceability part. Leather is a durable material, making it popular for use in luxury goods as it's a by-product of beef production. Traceability systems can help identify which ranches/ farms the hides eventually sold originate from and transparency will help the consumer choose sustainably sourced leather products. Digital Product Passports (DPP) will have a pivotal role in the disclosure of this information.
╰┈➤ Regulation such as European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) will be crucial to enforcing sustainable sourcing. The regulation is there to guarantee that products EU citizens consume do not contribute to deforestation or forest degradation globally. The application of EUDR is currently delayed until December 2025.
❋ Get the daily stats in your inbox: https://lnkd.in/eWeFc39q
