We hear a lot about the importance of eating organic and eating
local, but left out of the conversation are the growing methods of some
of our staple foods, and how much forest land has been lost to grow (or
raise) products like beef, rice, and palm oil—the latter of which is in
more foods than you might realize.

When agricultural land becomes unproductive (usually after about
three years), it is often cheaper to
clear new land than to fertilize it or replenish nutrients that were
drained from the soil. Monocrop agriculture is a major factor in how
modern food production has become unsustainable, but coffee and banana
production both serve as examples of smooth, successful transitions.
They have been drivers of deforestation in the past, but more recently
farmers have been using more intercropping and forest cover (ever heard
of shade-grown
coffee?), which helps to prevent deforestation and preserve
biodiversity. This is surely due in no small part to activist campaigns
waged in recent years to educate consumers and to generate change in the
supply chains.

This is a quick look at common foods contributing the most to
deforestation—and as a result, to climate change—around the world.