Dear lord. So. I mentioned before that I'm not vegetarian for ethical reasons and that, if I cared about ethics, I'd construct my diet and buying choices around minimizing deforestation.
So let's talk about what that'd actually look like.
These are the primary sites I reviewed:
Our World in Data
12 Major Companies Responsible for Deforestation
Based on these sites, the primary issues are beef, soy, palm oil, and paper production. The first three there are responsible for 60% of deforestation.
Interestingly, only 6% of soy production is for human consumption. The rest is for livestock or biofuels. So, I could trim down on my soy consumption, but if I were to start eating meat, I'd want to make sure I knew how the livestock was being fed so that they weren't reliant on soy.
The top company to avoid is Cargill, which is a bit tricky. Their clients include Unilever, Tesco, McDonald’s, Carrefour, Kellogg’s, Sainsbury’s, Mars, Petcare, Ahold Delhaize, Dunkin’ Brands, Nestle [x], Burger King, and Wal-Mart. They also have a lot of brands.
With Cargill, it seems the easier option is to write the various companies and policymakers to put pressure on Cargill to change their practices. [Completed Petition]
Okay...Cargill is 100% horrifying and cloaked in secrecy. [x]
Moving on.
Wilmar International Ltd primarily does palm oil. They claimed to be going toward sustainability, but it seems they've fallen off that wagon. But they're still getting rewards for their efforts. So this seems a bit like ymmv.
More companies to avoid or minimize: Walmart, JBS, IKEA, Korindo Group PT, Yakult Honsha Co. Ltd (yes, that yakult), Starbucks, McDonalds, Yum! Brands (e.g., KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell), Proctor & Gamble, and Ahold Delhaize (e.g., Food Lion, Giant, Stop and Shop).
Sources to check to see how companies are doing are the Forest 500 and Rainforest Action Network scorecard.
Some of those will be easy. I live in Chicago--going to Walmart takes considerable effort. Others will be harder--I'm going to IKEA this weekend to get a part for my brand new bed, for instance. But, I don't shop there regularly. Cutting down on P&G brands will be hard. [See X, X].
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This is too big. Nothing I do will actually have any impact. Any stand I take will be more for the principle of it than effect. Looking at Greenpeace for ways to help lower my contribution to deforestation through what I buy and use, the first idea is lowering meat consumption. I'm vegetarian, so done.
(I do think it'd be all right to eat some meat if it is local and you're certain the livestock aren't fed soy).
The next is to only purchase or use paper/wood products that are either recycled or sourced ethically (look for the Forest Stewardship Council mark).
Then, avoid palm oil. This is far, far more easily said than done. Plus, while current palm oil practices are horrendous, it apparently requires less land than any other vegetable oil to produce and so may ultimately be more sustainable than other options. So, palm oil isn't the problem, the current practices are. [X, X, X, X]
Reduce single-use plastics. Recycle and shop sustainably.
[Sources: X, X, X]
To distill all of that--be more aware of what you're buying and try to make choices that lean toward sustainability by reducing non-local meat, processed foods (that will hit both some of the brands to avoid from before and palm oil), disposable plastics, and anything that isn't or can't be recycled.
Everything is a lot. That's why, when I was a little kid, I hit on vegetarianism as something I could do. I don't think eating meat is morally wrong, but meat-for-food does contribute heavily to deforestation through land for the livestock and for growing their feed.
But I'm horrible about recycling. We didn't do it growing up and my last apartment didn't have recycling bins for pick-up. None of us are perfect. We just do what we can.
I have no desire to go zero-waste, but I can start thinking of ways to limit my trash output. I think that's a good next step in my goal to limit my personal contributions to deforestation.
At the same time, the only way our forests and rainforests are going to survive is if corporations stop destroying them. So I can contribute to organizations waging those battles.
I'm not vegetarian because my ethics, except, after thinking through all of this, maybe I am. The problem is that, if that is the case, I both need and want to start bringing the rest of my life in line with my ethical stance.
Great.
