Does harvesting the Aa berry destroy the Amazon rainforest?
The simple answer to this is No. The Acai Palm is helping to preserve the Amazon rainforest by harvesting the Acai berry. Each week, poachers illegally chop down between 5 and 10 thousand palm trees to obtain and sell a 12-inch section of the palm known as the palmito. As a result, the entire tree dies. On the other hand harvesting the Acai berry the Acai Palm continues to grow and the natives have an incentive to maintain and preserve this berry bearing palm. It is estimated by buying the berry from the Brazilians it will preserve over 250,000 Acai Palm trees.
