The Amazon Rainforest: The Lungs of Our Planet in Dire Straits!

The Amazon Rainforest, known throughout the world as the Lungs of our Planet, is in trouble. According to a study conducted by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE), the rainforest in Brazil released about 20% more carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere than it absorbed over the period from 2010-2019.

How did this happen? “Like other tropical forests, the Amazon is threatened by climate change and deforestation. An area the size of Taiwan is lost every year, mainly due to the expansion of pastures for beef production.” The researchers also believe that climate change has interfered with the rainfall in Brazil.

Now scientists and organizations are findings ways to restore the Amazon Forest. “The Amazon is very near the tipping point of savannization. We have to find a way to get deforestation and forest degradation to zero very soon, in a few years, and also to restore huge areas. This is our great challenge; we have to save the Amazon.” The root cause of the Amazon forest’s destruction is meat consumption.

Supreme Master Ching Hai explained the impact of livestock raising on the Amazon and how to recover it in a media interview with Irish Journalist Dr. Ben Murnane. “Eighty percent of the Amazon’s deforested lands are converted to grazing pastures for cattle-people. Of the remaining deforested land, the majority is used for growing soy. Eighty-five percent of the world’s soy is fed to the cattle-people that will be slaughtered for human consumption. So, the Amazon’s destruction is clearly linked to meat production. The melting in Antarctica can also be directly related to livestock raising, again because the heat-trapping potential of methane being so much higher than CO2. In addition, 60% of the black carbon that was found accelerating the Antarctic melt was coming from the burning of rainforest for livestock raising.

Everything points in the same direction; that is, meat diet. If we stop consuming animal-people products, much of this lethal source is eliminated and the heat it creates will also disappear. In fact, along with stopping meat consumption we all need to pray for forgiveness. This, too, is part of the Earth’s recovery, the awareness of the suffering caused by humanity and the true desire to reverse this action and to do good instead.”