Cattle and Deforestation of the Amazon

Finance: Cattle Supply Chains and Deforestation of the Amazon, June 22, 2023

On June 21st, approval was granted to two firms to manufacture lab grown meat. A video describing how this is done and what it tastes like (hint: chicken) can be found at https://youtu.be/08nHuUbt8SQ The first approval was for chicken, but lab grown beef is in the pipeline. In the future, especially for restaurants, this innovation will replace all imported beef and much of the domestic variety. Until then, the best way to deter bad actors in the import supply chain is to enact consumption taxes, which has huge advantages for trade. Please see the first two attachments for more about each topic.

As for JBS, no one is surprised that they would engage in greenwashing. The reason this becomes attractive, however, is the confused nature of development policy. To be truly fair, invitations to testify should have been extended to the United Nations Development Program, the Government of Brazil and the International Monetary Fund, as well as those critics of the status quo of sustainable development.

What you will learn, if you ask the right questions, is that it is often development agencies that encourage developing nations to clear land and plant crops or pasture cattle for export. The new trend is to try to make sure this is done in an environmentally friendly manner - but when development loans must be paid back to the International Monetary Fund, it is most likely that forests will be cleared.

I am one of those people who believes that the current development program should be reformed, starting with forgiving loans that mostly fund aid professionals rather than their target populations. Please see the third attachment for what I would put in the place of the current regime - and why it is essential to do so (hint: China).

In April 2021, I provided comments to this committee on Climate Change. The first part of these comments are repeated in the fourth attachment. I say this to establish my credibility on the topic. Part of credibility is truth telling. The truth is that trees grow like weeds. If they are not prevented from doing so by intensive agriculture, trees will grow where the climate allows them to. Look in the environs of Mount St. Helens to see how forests respond to being left alone. Deforestation is never permanent. In development, planting trees is how land is taken back from the desert. Switching to lab grown beef and better development practices will allow the Amazon to heal itself with no effort on our parts.

Attachment: Consumption Taxes Video Links Included

Attachment: Trade Policy Video

Attachment: Sustainable Development for Inner Cities & the Developing World

Attachment: Climate Challenges and the Tax Code