“According to Fern’s report, “the EU is one of the largest importers of products resulting from illegal deforestation [and in] 2012 imported €6bn of soy, beef, leather and palm oil which were grown or reared on land illegally cleared of forests in the tropics – almost a quarter of the total world trade”.

“To get a better idea of what this represents, the document says that “one football pitch of forest was illegally felled every two minutes in the period 2000-12 in order to supply the EU with these commodities”.

“While it is easy to spot products containing beef or soy, the same cannot be said for palm oil, which according to the world wildlife foundation can be found in lipstick, chocolate, shampoo and pizza dough, among others.

“In Brazil, it was found that “90 per cent of the deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon during 2000-09 was illegal”.  From: www.theparliamentmagazine.eu

GR:  The connection is not that complicated.  Throughout the world, rising demand drives supply.