beto's answer there to the sunrise/cowspiracy question was sneaky.

the idea that the tariffs are behind this is pretty specious. this is a decades old debate in brazil that broke open with the recent election of the far right, which was perhaps helped along by us interests, but was largely an internal process.

he's at least right to tie it to soy beans, though.

listen: there's no question that deforestation in brazil is a problem, and that it's tied to unsustainable land use decisions. but, what are the actual facts, here?

1) Five percent of all beef — chilled, frozen and cooked — imported to the USA is from Brazil, according to Cassandra Fish, a cattle and beef market expert.

2) This year’s import contribution is projected to fall below 9% - just slightly under the overall average of 9.3% dating back to 2000.

let's be generous - let's say a full 10% of beef is imported.

5% of 10% is 0.5%.

3) The top exports of Brazil are Soybeans ($25.9B), Iron Ore ($20.1B), Crude Petroleum ($17.4B), Raw Sugar ($11.4B) and Cars ($6.78B).