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Those numbers may or may not be true, but they're extremely low-resolution and draw false dichotomies. Prairie grasslands that are used for cattle and a tremend

Those numbers may or may not be true, but they're extremely low-resolution and draw false dichotomies. Prairie grasslands that are used for cattle and a tremendous amount of other plant commodities were not once old-growth rainforests, and continue providing (albeit probably somewhat degraded) useful habitat for many species. Meanwhile 100% of whatever is covered by parking lots and McMansions is essentially useless for everything except temporary fairgrounds, parking SUVs, trapping heat, causing floods, and killing the appeal of urban landscapes. If all of a sudden we forested the areas that aren't, it would not be a good thing. You can't refer to what's happening in the Amazon and then point a finger at an arbitrary person and be like "See, if you didn't eat meat, this wouldn't be happening". It's probably not even relevant to Argentina. There are questions to be raised and numbers to be thrown around, but world-level numbers aren't really that interesting.

myshpa 3y ago
This is not a reply I'd expect at all @ hacker news. If world numbers are not good enough for you, do you want numbers specifically for argentina or the us? Or some other from those 200+ countries that exist? From a random stranger on the internet, instead of doing your own research? In the age or google etc? Just so you'd reject those for some arbitrary bullshit reason again? Come on.
- roflyear 3y ago
  Otherwise rational people get really upset about the vegan thing. I don't understand it.
myshpa 3y ago
> If all of a sudden we forested the areas that aren't, it would not be a good thing Oh yes it would. > if you didn't eat meat, this wouldn't be happening ... probably not even relevant to Argentina. https://green-ecolog.com/15337803-deforestation-in-argentina-causes-and-consequences https://green-ecolog.com/15337803-deforestation-in-argentina... https://www.globalissues.org/news/2010/05/19/5658 https://www.globalissues.org/news/2010/05/19/5658 In the 1830s, the sheer abundance and diversity of plants and animals in Argentina -- whether on land or in the water -- astounded British naturalist Charles Darwin during his famed tours of South America ... If we could put a satellite image from 200 years ago next to one from today, we would see that the forested area has diminished in size and quality. The wooded areas left are much smaller and with less variety of species,' he said ... For the last 200 years, this South American country ... has seemed to be bent on destroying its forests ... In 1915, Argentina had 100 million hectares of forest - nearly a third of the national territory. Although there are doubts about the veracity of this official figure, there is no question about the magnitude of the destruction ... By 1937, the agricultural census determined that the total area was 37.5 million hectares, and by 1987 it was 35 million. Ten years later, the area covered by forests had been reduced to 33 million hectares. Deforestation accelerated to make room for intensive farming. Currently, more than half of the cultivated area in Argentina is planted in transgenic soy, which China buys in massive quantities to feed its livestock.

myshpa 3y ago

This is not a reply I'd expect at all @ hacker news. If world numbers are not good enough for you, do you want numbers specifically for argentina or the us? Or some other from those 200+ countries that exist? From a random stranger on the internet, instead of doing your own research? In the age or google etc? Just so you'd reject those for some arbitrary bullshit reason again? Come on.

roflyear 3y ago
Otherwise rational people get really upset about the vegan thing. I don't understand it.

myshpa 3y ago

> If all of a sudden we forested the areas that aren't, it would not be a good thing Oh yes it would. > if you didn't eat meat, this wouldn't be happening ... probably not even relevant to Argentina. https://green-ecolog.com/15337803-deforestation-in-argentina-causes-and-consequences https://green-ecolog.com/15337803-deforestation-in-argentina... https://www.globalissues.org/news/2010/05/19/5658 https://www.globalissues.org/news/2010/05/19/5658 In the 1830s, the sheer abundance and diversity of plants and animals in Argentina -- whether on land or in the water -- astounded British naturalist Charles Darwin during his famed tours of South America ... If we could put a satellite image from 200 years ago next to one from today, we would see that the forested area has diminished in size and quality. The wooded areas left are much smaller and with less variety of species,' he said ... For the last 200 years, this South American country ... has seemed to be bent on destroying its forests ... In 1915, Argentina had 100 million hectares of forest - nearly a third of the national territory. Although there are doubts about the veracity of this official figure, there is no question about the magnitude of the destruction ... By 1937, the agricultural census determined that the total area was 37.5 million hectares, and by 1987 it was 35 million. Ten years later, the area covered by forests had been reduced to 33 million hectares. Deforestation accelerated to make room for intensive farming. Currently, more than half of the cultivated area in Argentina is planted in transgenic soy, which China buys in massive quantities to feed its livestock.