If you must eat meat... "Replace Beef with Poultry or Pork"

[handmade34]

108. alarmist views?

the government (but mostly corporations) already control much of what you eat... we need to look critically at this issue... not just have knee-jerk reactions to a perceived sense that gov't has too much control

"...Deforestation affects the earth's physical environment by causing soil erosion, poor water quality, reduced food security and impaired flood protection, according to a report from the World Resources Institute. Because forests are the source of employment and food for many people, their destruction can cause mass migration to cities. With the influence that tropical forests have on weather, particularly rain, deforestation can cause altered weather patterns...

Biological Diversity: When massive swaths of forest are destroyed, species loss follows. Tropical areas, like Brazil's rain forests, have the world's highest concentrations of biologically diverse species. When the habitat for plants and animals is cut down or burned, species that may not be present anywhere else on Earth disappear. In addition, deforestation of tropical forests leaves many species of migrating birds without a winter home.

Climate Change: Deforestation is a main cause of the higher concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In particular, deforestation causes high levels of carbon dioxide: it is released when forests are burned or when they decompose, and when trees that used to take in this carbon dioxide are cut down, levels rise. Greenhouse gases are trapped in the atmosphere and act as a barrier for heat that would normally be released into space; as a result, temperatures across the globe rise and change rainfall patterns, ice cover and sea levels..."
http://greenliving.nationalgeographic.com/deforestation-effects-global-scale-2214.html