There is a yes and no answer to this, depending on who you are asking.
For those who say "Yes!" their reasons are the following:
- Most of the world's cattle are raise in areas where rainforests once flourished, and since cattle are grazing animals and not browsers, trees have to be cut down on order to provide more grazing land to feed the world's appetite for beef.
- Most of the cattle barons responsible for cutting down trees are uneducated on proper grazing management and sustaining pastureland. All they do is like what was done in America over 150 years ago: over-stock and overgraze.
- Cattle means money, and where there's a high demand for beef, then there's got to be a high supply. In order to meet that high demand, more grazing land has to be made available in order to supply more beef.
For those who say "No!" their reasons are the following:
- Not all of the world's cattle are raised in areas where rainforests are or where located.
- Humans are the sole reason why deforestation occurs. They are the ones that are destroying the trees. The Cows and Cattle are just the things that happen to be in the line of fire when it comes to disputes over deforestation.
- Deforestation occurs not because the cows need the grazing, it's because of how uneducated cattle barons are about more sustainable grazing practices. They know nothing about stocking rate, grazing periods, rest periods, stock density, nor animal impact. All they do is what was done in American over 150 years ago: overgraze and overstock.
- The rainforest isn't the only forest that contributes to the Earth's oxygen supply. Sure it supplies 40% of the Earth's oxygen, but the Boreal forest supplies around 50% of the Earth's oxygen as well, and it isn't seeing as heavy a deforestation impact as the rainforests are. Cattle can be raised up where the boreal forests are, but often that's where the more conservation-minded people are, and they take care not to cut down too many trees at a time.
