Anna Hunt, Staff Writer
Waking Times
“Enlightenment without action is hallucination.” ~ Unknown
The forests in most countries around the equator, such as the Brazilian Amazon, have suffered greatly. In the 1960’s they were cut down to make way for cattle ranching and crop cultivation. At that time, governments were quick to loosen their restrictions on protected lands to benefit from high beef prices, driven by the growing fast food industry and foreign agricultural interests. Thanks to funding from McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s, governments were able to give subsidies to local farmers to burn down sections of the rainforest and make room for cattle pastures, as well as cultivate large quantities of crop such as soybean and African palm.
