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Cultures of Soy and Cattle in the Context of Reduced Deforestation and Agricultural Intensification in the Brazilian Amazon

Cultures of Soy and Cattle in the Context of Reduced Deforestation and Agricultural... The expansion and intensification of agriculture is a major driver of deforestationin tropical forests and for global climate change. However, over the past decadeBrazil has significantly reduced its deforestation rates while simultaneously increasing its agricultural production, particularly cattle and soy. While, the scholarly literature primarily attributes this success to environmental policy and global economic trends, recent ethnographic depictions of cattle ranchers and soy farmers offer deeper insight into how these political and economic processes are experienced on the ground. Examples demonstrate that policy and markets provide a framework for soy farming and ranching, but emerging forms of identity and new cultural values shape their practices. This article argues that to understand the full picture of why Brazil’s deforestation rates have dropped while the agricultural industry has flourished, the culture of producers must be present in the analysis. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Environment and Society Berghahn Books

Cultures of Soy and Cattle in the Context of Reduced Deforestation and Agricultural Intensification in the Brazilian Amazon

Environment and Society , Volume 7 (1): 18 – Sep 1, 2016

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Publisher
Berghahn Books
Copyright
© Berghahn Books
ISSN
2150-6779
eISSN
2150-6787
DOI
10.3167/ares.2016.070105
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The expansion and intensification of agriculture is a major driver of deforestationin tropical forests and for global climate change. However, over the past decadeBrazil has significantly reduced its deforestation rates while simultaneously increasing its agricultural production, particularly cattle and soy. While, the scholarly literature primarily attributes this success to environmental policy and global economic trends, recent ethnographic depictions of cattle ranchers and soy farmers offer deeper insight into how these political and economic processes are experienced on the ground. Examples demonstrate that policy and markets provide a framework for soy farming and ranching, but emerging forms of identity and new cultural values shape their practices. This article argues that to understand the full picture of why Brazil’s deforestation rates have dropped while the agricultural industry has flourished, the culture of producers must be present in the analysis.

Journal

Environment and SocietyBerghahn Books

Published: Sep 1, 2016

References