Beef production in Brazil has been the largest driver of global deforestation in recent decades

Beef production is the largest single cause of global deforestation, responsible for 41% of all agricultural deforestation between 2001 and 2023.

This means that for every 100 hectares of forest cleared for farming worldwide, about 41 hectares were lost to make space for cattle grazing.

The expansion of pastures has particularly affected the Amazon rainforest and the Cerrado savanna, both highly biodiverse ecosystems.

These regions are critical for biodiversity and climate regulation, as they store large amounts of carbon.

The data comes from a study published in 2026 by Singh and Persson, which analyzed global patterns of deforestation linked to agriculture.

Deforestation in this context refers to the permanent removal of forest cover to create land for farming or other uses.