Re:wild Your Fridge | Brazil Case Study

How deforestation for animal agriculture is threatening the Amazon — and how shifting what we eat can help protect it.

The Brazilian Amazon is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet.

The Brazilian Amazon makes up about 60% of Amazonia, a vast region that includes Brazil and seven other countries (plus French Guiana).

The largest threat to that biodiversity? It's the cattle and cattle feed industry.

Large swaths of rainforest are cleared for cattle to graze and to grow food for the animals. In fact, a full 95% of all deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has been due to animal agriculture.

Of the deforestation that occurred in the Brazilian Amazon between 1985-2021, a full 95% was due to animal agriculture, including both pasture for cattle and feed crops.

The consequences are devastating.

Wildlife populations plummet. The planet loses one of its most vital tropical forests for carbon capture and storage. As the landscape dries out, the risk of intense fires grows — like those that burned over 2.2 million acres of rainforest in 2019, making headlines worldwide. While deforestation has begun to slow in some areas, the damage already done is significant — and meaningful action is still urgently needed.

Nearing the Tipping Point

Scientists warn that if 20–25% of the Amazon is destroyed, the rainforest could reach a tipping point — a threshold beyond which it can no longer sustain itself. Once that balance is broken, the Amazon may begin to collapse, releasing vast amounts of stored carbon and triggering irreversible damage to global climate and biodiversity.

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What are we doing about it?

Re:wild is working with local partners, Indigenous communities and local communities on finding economic alternatives to cattle ranching in Amazonia that are environmentally sustainable and often bring in more than the cattle industry.

In the Amazon region, livestock generate between USD$30 and USD$100 per hectare per year of net income. Yet a recent study shows that individuals in Brazil’s state of Pará who moved to cocoa agricultural systems are making between four and six times more profit per hectare compared to cattle. And the production of açaí in Brazil results in a net income of between USD$200 and USD$1,500 USD per hectare.

We are also exploring biotechnology like precision fermentation and other alternatives that could yield even greater revenue for tropical countries like Brazil using a fraction of the resources.