Beef cattle take a huge toll on the environment. In Brazil, a huge chunk of greenhouse gas emissions comes from ranching alone. And a California-sized chunk of the Amazon rainforest has been cut down to provide land for these cattle to graze on.

But one man, living on the edge of the Amazon rainforest, has a potential solution. In a series of small pilot projects run in his own small town, he’s demonstrated that he can work with ranchers to make their land healthier and more sustainable, so they don’t have to slash and burn more forest. He’s also shown that, by making the land greener and the cows healthier, he can dramatically reduce emissions from ranching.

Further listening and reading: 

• Christina Selby’s story about Vando Telles’s company can be found at Scientific American.
• Vox video has an in-depth explainer on deforestation in the Amazon and on the invasion of indigenous land in Brazil.
• Vox video also has an explainer on why eating beef speeds up climate change.
• Vox’s Umair Irfan traveled to Brazil last year to report on deforestation and climate change.

We always want to hear from you! Please send comments and questions to futureperfect@vox.com. 

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Featuring:

Christina Selby (@Christina Selby), freelance science reporter

Host:

Sigal Samuel (@SigalSamuel), staff writer, Vox 

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