Discuss the environmental consequences of increasing international demand for one raw material (soy

As the world population started to increase rapidly in the 1960s, the international demand for soybeans has been positively correlated with it. 70% of soybeans is produced for the feed of livestock and poultry; 20% is used to extract oil for cooking, while only 10% is the main ingredient of processed foods that are consumed directly, such as tofu, meat substitute, and soy sauce. A key to the extreme growth in demand for soybeans was a discovery in the mid-20th century that combining soybeans with four parts grain effectively boosts the efficiency of biological growth for livestock. Soybeans, rice, corn, and wheat are the world’s leading crops. This essay will analyze the environmental consequences caused by the rapid growth of international demand for soybeans with the support of case studies on Brazil and Argentina.

Today the area planted with soybeans is greater than all other grain crops together. The United States has dominated the exports of soybeans since the 1970s; soybeans are also leading agriculture in Argentina and Brazil. This is in return generating a great impact on environments, especially severe clearance of rainforests in the Amazon and the over-farming in the Pampas prairie.

Brazil has become the world’s leading exporter of beef, that is, a greater amount of cattle feed is required. There has been a considerable amount of forest clearance for soybeans in Brazil over the last decade. This is also caused by the fact that the brazil’s soybeans are an important source of cattle feed for Europe and China. Particularly in China, the soybean consumption reached 55 million tons in 2009 due to the rising of income in general, with approximately 75% of it exported. Lastly, agricultural scientists are not as successful in reducing the amount of land needed for soybean cultivation as in for corn. Corn yields have risen four-fold since the 1950s while soybeans yields have only doubled.

Argentina became the third largest soybean exporter after cattle rearing is replaced by soybean farms on the Pampas prairie. According to the Argentine Rural Society, 10 million hectares of land on the Pampas have been plowed up for profitable corns and soybeans. The over-farming is having a large-scale negative impact on its ecosystem. Arable farming has certainly increased the chemical input on the lands of the Pampas, which has put wildlife in danger and triggered concerns about the destruction of native grass species.

In contrary to countless negative environmental impacts, the international increase in demand for soybeans has boosted Brazil and Argentina up onto the global stage of agriculture. The sacrifice made behind the economy of the two developing countries that is being lifted is on the environment. Fortunately, as globalization advances, NGOs in developing countries have been paying intense attention to the conservation of endangered environments. For instance, Greenpeace published the report ‘Eating up the Amazon’ in 2006; it accused three largest US commodities firms who supplied seeds, pesticides, and mills for allowing such large-scale soybean production in the Amazon. As a positive result of Greenpeace’s actions, a moratorium on cutting rainforest for further soybean production has taken place, and many companies have stopped purchasing soybeans produced in Brazil. However, the damage is done and continues with local illegal producers. Governments of the Americas should cooperate on policy alterations that aim to reduce harm for environments as much as possible.