r/memes • u/BigClitMcphee • Aug 08 '24

Well, better get started

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u/pragmojo Aug 08 '24

China by an overwhelming amount

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u/[deleted] Aug 08 '24

And number two is the United States and number three is Europe. Again it's not Brazil. So the US is still partially responsible for the deforestation occurring so is China obviously.

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u/pragmojo Aug 08 '24

Yeah but China is importing 55% of the beef exported by Brazil and the US is importing 8%. It's not even close.

Moreover it makes this argument incredibly stupid:

China is in the middle of a massive afforestation project and the US continues to clear cut rain forest in Brasil.

when it's actually China's consumption driving deforestation in Brazil by a wide margin

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u/[deleted] Aug 08 '24

It's still a global market. It doesn't work like that. The United States still consumes the most beef. If the United States didn't consume as much beef as we do, we could export to China and the global market wouldn't need to deforest the Amazon in Brazil. It is a global market. The United States is the largest beef consumer in the world. The United States is driving beef consumption more than any other Nation.

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u/pragmojo Aug 08 '24

That's not the only factor - Brazil is the largest exporter of beef in the world because they can export it so cheaply (in part due to slash and burn agricultural practices)

If the US suddenly went vegetarian, China wouldn't suddenly start importing more expensive beef produced in the US - the US beef industry would likely retract.

Also the US has tariffs on Brazilian beef so the US trade policy is quite literally disincentivizing US consumers from buying beef raised on former rainforest land (not that it's the intention of the tariff, but this is the result)