New farmland is being developed in South America, rising global temperatures should increase the area of arable land in north America and northern Europe and improved governance in Africa is leading to increased food production there. (theconversation.com)
What I remember hearing is that they are both un (der) educated about the ecological value of the forest, and they are facing a host of other economic pressures (loss of arable land for farming, declining crops, massive depopulation of the region). (dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com)
Moreover, the global demand for food (especially animal protein) will increase in coming years, putting pressure for more arable land on the Amazon, seen as one of the last frontiers for industrial agriculture worldwide. (scientificamerican.com)