The Amazon Rainforest: A Jewel That Must Be Treasured, Part 2 of 2

The world’s largest tropical rainforest, the Amazon is one of Mother Nature’s most precious and impressive gems. The awe-inspiring Amazon rainforest is truly spectacular for its exquisite beauty and its humble service to the local native population. It is the ancestral home to around 400 tribes and provides much needed medicinal plants and food for these indigenous communities. The Amazon is also the planet’s most luxuriant and diverse biological ecosystem of plants, birds, animals, and insects. Thirty percent of the world’s known species call this place their home. Sadly, the loss of the Amazon rainforest already threatens the lives of all the animal and plant species, causing many to become endangered and even extinct. Nearly 70 percent of deforestation in the Amazon is caused by cattle ranching. Seventeen percent of the Amazon was believed to have been destroyed as of 2018. Scientists warn that if deforestation passes a threshold, the Amazon, the “lungs of our planet,” may never recover. Raoni Metuktire, chief of the indigenous Brazilian Kayapó people, gives a heartfelt plea to the urgency of this dire situation. “We call on you to stop what you are doing, to stop the destruction, to stop your attack on the spirits of the Earth. If the land dies, if our Earth dies, then none of us will be able to live, and we too will all die.” There is little time. By switching to a vegan diet and an eco-conscious lifestyle, we can help halt the alarming rate of global warming and prevent further destruction of the Amazon rainforest.