Is the Amazon rainforest being cut down for biofuel production?
Sugarcane, which is the feedstock for the majority of Brazil’s biofuels, does not grow in wet climates such as rainforest. Despite this simple fact, people insist that the increased demand for sugarcane-based ethanol is causing farmers in Brazil to cut down rainforest to obtain additional tillable land. In fact, 85% of Brazil’s sugarcane is grown in the south-central region, hundreds of miles from the Amazon rainforest, and the rest is in the north-east of Brazil. Furthermore, due to productivity gains, the expansion of ethanol production in Brazil has been accompanied by a simultaneous increase in the production of food crops.
