The Amazon rainforest has, again, gone up in flames. Satellites recorded 32,017 fires in September this year, a 61% rise from the same month in 2019. Multiple interconnected factors fuel this crisis—one of them is beef.

Last year’s fires were three times more likely to have started in beef farming zones than in non-grazing areas. Beef conglomerates such as JBS, Minerva, and Marfrig export the lion’s share of Amazonian beef to international chains such as Walmart, McDonalds, and Burger King. Demand alone hasn’t made Brazil the biggest beef exporter; domestic policies have played a key role in the rise of Brazil’s beef packing industry.

Here is what you need to know about how the Big Mac is driving the “world’s biggest single environmental crisis.”

One of the biggest suppliers for fast food giants, Cargill, has been accused of fueling deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon (Source: Greenbiz).

Cattle Ranching in the Amazon Region

Amazonian fires are often intentionally set to clear forest area for cattle ranching. Cheap land, low input costs, and convenient transportation incentivize encroachment into the forest frontier. Agricultural productivity in the rainforest is poor, however: The land generates low yields, necessitating more forest clearing and expansion of pastureland.

The cattle ranching juggernaut took root in the 1980s, when the Brazilian government introduced economic reforms to spur development in the Amazon. Alongside this economic and policy restructuring, improvements to road infrastructure and meat processing facilities paved the way for the beef industry in the rainforest. Then, the Brazilian currency depreciated, driving down the price of Brazilian beef and launching the country’s beef exports into the global market.

The Booming Beef Industry

As the world becomes wealthier, our collective appetite for beef balloons. China and Hong Kong, in particular, are ravenous for burgers. These two markets consumed 44% of total beef exports from the Amazon in 2018.

Beef is also at the center of a trade deal between the European Union and Mercosur (a trade coalition established by Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay), which is pending ratification. If implemented, the agreement could eliminate a 20% charge on imported beef in the EU. According to the head of the Brazilian Association of Meat Exporters, Antônio Camardelli, “a deal of this magnitude is like an invitation card for speaking with other countries,” and further boosting Brazil’s beef packing industry. Satiating the world’s craze for the Big Mac, however, means bulldozing more rainforest.

Reactions to the Beef Establishment

Yet beef businesses have drawn fierce opposition from global leaders. In the aftermath of the 2019 fires, the Finnish finance minister urged the European Union to “review the possibility of banning Brazilian beef imports.” This was in an effort to pressurize Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro into taking a stronger stance against unrestrained deforestation.

The EU-Mercosur agreement is also steeped in the beef controversy. Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Austria, and the Netherlands have all criticized the deal, pointing to Brazil’s weak environmental regulations and the “unfair competition” the deal will impose on European farmers.

Protestors object to the Mercosur Deal outside the Brazilian embassy in Dublin, Ireland (Source: Independent).

Environmental activists have long raised the alarm on Amazonian forest destruction. In 2009, the Brazilian government buckled under concerted public pressure and issued a moratorium on beef production in recently deforested zones. The beef industries, for their part, yielded to the embargo. Marfrig, Minerva, JBS-Friboi, and Bertin implemented certification and monitoring systems to ensure that their beef supply was not linked to deforestation. Walmart, Pão de Açúcar, and Carrefour also terminated contracts with suppliers implicated in torching the Amazon. It looked like the world had circumvented a full-blown ecological crisis in the world’s largest rainforest.

This newfound hope was short-lived. Deregulation and corruption under Bolsonaro’s administration have crippled efforts to rein in the beef frenzy. In 2017, for example, JBS was caught in the spotlight for the company’s role in not just illegal deforestation but animal welfare violations and even slave labor.

And then former Brazilian president Michel Temer appointed Osmar Serraglio as justice minister. Serraglio is a member of the “beef caucus,” an alliance of powerful lawmakers who represent the interests of the agriculture sector. The national coordinator of Brazil’s Association of Indigenous Peoples Sônia Guajajara made it clear what was at stake: “He is working so the land will be given to [the ranchers]. We are in a war moment.”

What is a Big Mac Aficionado to Do?

While Brazilian politics today favors the cattle industry, consumers can wield their influence to balance the scales. It was, after all, sustained international scrutiny that pushed Brazil to act swiftly in the face of spiraling deforestation in the mid-2000s. Demonstrating against corruption, advocating for sustainable agriculture, and holding “beef giants” accountable could drive market and policy shifts.

For all the Big Mac enthusiasts out there, it’s imperative to reduce beef consumption. The beef business is a forest killing, water-guzzling, greenhouse gas emitting industry. Here is one area of climate change where many small dietary changes could add up to create momentous environmental change.

So, the next time you are in McDonalds, perhaps consider skipping the Big Mac.