Day 241 - 26 Apr 96 - Page 36
1 of rainforests to schools and universities, museums and
2 nature centres, service organisations and US government
3 policy makers.
4
5 "In 1979 to 80, I consulted with staff members of the US
6 House of Representatives' Committee on Foreign Affairs
7 which resulted in three hearings held throughout 1980.
8 I testified at two of those sessions.
9
10 "Also in 1979-80, I was contracted by the US Department of
11 State's Office of Environmental Affairs to conduct a study
12 of the beef cattle in tropical Latin America. The scope of
13 this study included the causes and consequences of cattle
14 ranching on the tropical forest biomes of Central and South
15 America; consideration of the policies and assistance
16 programmes of various governments, both indigenous and
17 foreign; the activities of international funding
18 institutions; the role of private sector interests; and the
19 issue of beef exports and imports as they affect the
20 countries involved.
21
22 "The report entitled 'Hoofprints on the Forest: Cattle
23 Ranching and the Destruction of Latin American Tropical
24 Forests, was accepted by the US Department of State in
25 March 1980 and was circulated internationally for decision
26 makers and used widely by colleges and universities. In
27 1986 a revised and updated version of the report was
28 published under the same title by the Institute for the
29 Study of Human Issues, Philadelphia, PA.
30
31 "My other publications include Edging Toward Extinction,
32 1980, published by the Humane Society of the United States,
33 and 'Assault on Eden', a chapter in Advances In Animal
34 Welfare Sciences, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1987. In
35 addition to on-going consultation with media in the United
36 States, I served as the Principal Editor of Proceedings of
37 the US Strategy Conference on Tropical Deforestation, US
38 Department of State 1978, and was a participant at the
39 founding meeting of the Rainforest Action Network in San
40 Francisco, California, 1985.
41
42 "In searching the subject of beef cattle ranching in the
43 tropical forest areas of Central and South America and
44 exports, I visited sites throughout the region in 1977 and
45 conducted extensive interviews in both Latin America and
46 the United States between 1977 and 1986.
47
48 "My work pertains to the relevant issues raised in this
49 case, as I understand it, as follows:
50
51 "When the initial interviews with representatives of the
52 food industry in the US were conducted in 1979-80, there
53 was little awareness amongst those contacted of the impact
54 that cattle ranching had on tropical forest ecosystems.
55 Consequently, spokespersons for meat brokerage houses, food
56 processors and fast-food chains responded, for the most
57 part, in an unguarded manner. (By 1982-3, however, public
58 awareness of tropical deforestation had substantially
59 increased and food industry spokespersons were markedly
60 guarded in their responses to queries.)
