The document discusses the relationships between the swine industry, soybean production, and rainforests in Brazil. It notes that soymeal is a key ingredient in pig and poultry feed in Brazil. It criticizes European perspectives on Brazilian rainforests, noting that Brazil uses a smaller percentage of its land for agriculture and has more forest coverage than the European Union. The document also provides statistics on regional production of soybeans and the distribution of pig farming herds across Brazil's regions. It argues that increased productivity rather than rainforest destruction has driven growth in soybean production.
3. 3
Brazil expects to produce 82.063.500 tons of soybean this year and the North Region should
produce 3% of the total with its production concentrated mainly in the states of Tocantins (65%)
and Rondonia (21%)
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3
Source: http://www.brasil.gov.br/sobre/environment/geography/brazilian-biomes-1/br_model1?set_language=en,
which contains information on the different Brazilian biomes. For those interested in learning more about the subject of
areas burnt for agricultural purpose I recommend Distribution Patterns of Burned Areas in the Brazilian Biomes: An
Analysis Based on Satellite Data for the 2002–2010 Period, by Fernando Moreira de Araújo *, Laerte Guimarães
Ferreira and Arielle Elias Arantes www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/4/7/1929/pd
4
Source: Elaborated by ODConsulting with data from CONAB - www.conab.gov.br
4. And contrary to the slogan affirmations that Brazil is increasing its soybean production through the
devastation of the Amazon forest, data demonstrate that increase in productivity has been the
main tool of production expansion.
As far as pig production is concerned, the South Region of Brazil concentrates 48,6% of the herd.
The North Region has 4% of the herd and very little consumption of pork, contrary to the South
and Southeast where Brazilians of Italian, Dutch, German and Japanese ancestry are concentrated,
whose fathers have brought us both the tradition of breeding and consumption when they
immigrated in the XIX and early XX centuries.
The distance between the South and North most state capitals of Brazil, Porto Alegre (Rio Grande
do Sul) and Manaus (Amazonas) is of 4563 km, almost the distance between Lisbon and Moscow.
5. Brazil has become an agricultural powerhouse. It may not please everybody, mainly our
competitors. But human diet is migrating from vegetal to animal products, which require four
times more natural resources to be produced, mainly water and arable land. The country has
abundance of these resources, photosynthesis and has developed a technology for agriculture and
livestock in tropical and moderate climate areas. Brazilian competitiveness in the agribusiness is
here to stay.
And a world where almost 7000 children per day are victims of malnutrition and related diseases
accessible food is needed.