After Ségolène Royal said that Nutella should not use palm oil, Ferrero, the makers of Nutella said that they are already trying to be more sustainable.

 Deforestation

Definition

Deforestation is clearing Earth's forests on a massive scale.

Causes

• People cutting down trees to make space for houses, farms, or for infrastructure.
• Palm oil plantations cut down palm trees for palm oil.
• A cause of deforestation is the need for harvesting trees for paper and wood
• Illegal logging is when people clear cut many trees without abiding laws, Illegal loggers can clear cut entire forests.

Interesting fact: About 36 football fields worth of trees are cut a minute.

Effects

• Animals lose their habitats, that sometimes can causes losses of entire species.
• Entire destruction of eco-systems and the plants and animals that live in them.
• Trees normally soak up some of the pollution in streams and rivers causing more pollution in water when they are cut down.
• The soil will erode without the tree roots holding the land together causing more landslides and mudslides.
• There will be more silt in water supply's without trees to soak it up.
• It will increase the rate of global warming; tree cutting already contributes 6-12% of the world's total carbon emissions. When trees are cut down they release greenhouse gasses.

You might not know that....
Drug trafficking can cause deforestation.
What products use palm oil?  What is being done to move towards sustainable palm oil?
After significant pressure, Fererro corporation now makes Nutella using sustainable palm oil that can be traced back to its source!

Beef hurts the environment in many ways,  but commitment to improving practices can have positive impacts.
How can you help?
Ways to prevent deforestation.