Carnism

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Burger King's ongoing massive deforestation for animal feed

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Carnist fast food companies continue to wreak havock on some of the earth's most sensitive ecosystems on a massive scale. Not just from factory farming, but from the ever increasing demand for soy to feed the animals they grow for food.

"More than one million square kilometers of our planet - equivalent to the total combined area of France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands - are dedicated to growing soy", according to a study by Mighty Earth.

The study investigates the environmental impact of how Burger King, the world's second largest hamburger chain, produces the meat they use in the "11 million Whoppers, Crispy Chickens Jr., Bacon Kings and other sandwiches" they sell every day.

To be clear, Burger King, owned by the Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital, is not the only carnist company causing large-scale environmental problems. But Mighty Earth thought the company provided a fitting vehicle to get a glimpse of the global meat industry, given its size, scale and connection to other food companies, and seeming unwillingness to address how their meat is produced.

The report shows that Burger King has a lot to hide. "The fast food giant has failed to adopt any serious policies to protect native ecosystems in the production of its food", and "continues to rank dead last among its competitors, like McDonald's, when it comes to protecting the environment".

"Burger King scored a zero on the Union of Concerned Scientists' 2016 scorecard of major beef sellers' deforestation profiles, significantly lagging behind other major players like Wal-Mart, McDonald's and Wendy's."

Aerial drones, satellite imaging and field research were used in Brazil and Bolivia to show farmers clearing ancient vegetation and burning forest en masse to clear land for soybean production for Burger King's suppliers Cargill and Bunge. "Interviews with farmers confirmed that Cargill and Bunge were the two most common customers of soy from the sites we visited." Cargill has notoriously granted themselves until 2030 to eliminate deforestation from its supply chains, leaving soy growers almost 15 more years to wreak further damage in the area.

The researchers focused on soybean production, the ultimate source of what feeds most of the livestock the company uses to create their meat. Soy is the go-to ingredient to feed to the world's meat demand and approximately three quarters of all soy harvested goes to animal feed.

While not all of the forest clearing, which is largely taking place in Bolivia's lowland forests and in the Brazilian Cerrado (thought to be the world's most biologically rich savannah), is linked to soy production Mighty Earth urges that food companies are not doing enough to prevent further destruction of these lands.

Mighty Earth is a global campaign organization that works to protect the environment.