A real threat… Yucatan Peninsula jungles and rainforests at risk

“The home of Mexico’s iconic species, such as the jaguar, the Yucatecan parrot and the spider monkey (just to name a few), in the Yucatan Peninsula, are dying because the livestock industry deforests the jungle and rainforest indiscriminately”, says the environmental, non-governmental organization Greenpeace Mexico.

The organization states that “among the beauty of the jungle hides a cruel industry that devours the planet: industrial cattle raising, which grows without control and destroys thousands of hectares of forest a year, in one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in Mexico and the world”.

Viridiana Lázaro, Greenpeace activist, says that with more livestock the human population demands for food, the more resources will be needed to produce it, which means more soil, more water and more broken up ecosystems.

“Our appetite for meat and dairy is devastating the planet, so it’s time to transform our food system and demand a change in the production model.”

“The environmental impacts are enormous, from the excessive use and contamination of water, to deforestation and loss of species habitat,” said the activist.

After mentioning that Greenpeace is conducting field research, she says the findings are “heartbreaking” and will soon be made public.

Meanwhile, she points out that in the Yucatan Peninsula 16,840 hectares of jungle have been affected by the construction of pig farms; that is, an area equivalent to 2,673 times the size of a soccer field.

To continue with the research, Greenpeace will begin a campaign of donations for the forests, because water and soil samples are being analyzed that will indicate the state of deterioration of the ecosystems.

The Yucatan Times
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