Environmental Ethical Dilemma key terms:

Healthy Options: A wide variety of fresh lean meats, produce and whole grain products. Healthy options, does not mean just food. In many families people are taught to cook in most fattening ways possible, usually involving lots of gratuitous fats. Thus having healthy options should also include education and training on healthier ways to cook.

Virgin forests: These are first growth forests that have been untouched by human hands for centuries. Many believe that due to the “virgin” nature of these forests it is home to many plants and animals that do not exist anywhere else in the world. I agree with this assertion and find careless deforestation very problematic.

Deforestation: This is the large scale chopping down of trees. The effects of deforestation on “virgin” forests of South America are perhaps the most dangerous. Animals and plants could become extinct, the hydrological cycle could become severely off kilter and indigenous people could become displaced. In a lesser developed country governments tend to be a bit more corrupt and there is not as much accountability for environmental damage they promote. This is how Cargill was able to promote so much destruction without any consequences. Another environmental ethical dilemma is when situations like this arise should governments allow deforestation for economic development or should they protect the environment. Greenpeace believes that only a few people financially benefit from such projects and many perish.

Globalization: This modern phenomenon is clear in this essay. Because the multi-national corporation Cargill decided to capitalize on the vast amount of land in Brazil (“virgin forests”) to plant soybeans, speculators and farmers in Brazil began the “Soybean Gold rush.” Soon Brazil with the help of Cargill began to out produce the United States in the soybean market. This lowered the value of soybeans forcing the US government to pay soybean farmers subsidies. This 2 billion dollar subsidy takes large amounts away from public programs which could provide kids living in working class neighborhoods in the city with few healthy food options with healthy food. By under-funding teaching nutrition and providing healthy food, children continue to purchase cheap food at McDonald’s. In order to keep their food cheap for this US market, McDonald’s Europe must buy chicken from Cargill raised on Cargill soybean feed from South America.