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| Zofia Page imagines a scenario so absurd it reads like satire – yet, in the current climate, disturbingly plausible, and all too close to the reality of rainforest destruction. |
Imagine a populist leader rising to power, driven not by a sense of stewardship but by ego and ambition. In the midst of his empire-building and money-making agenda, one passion stands out: golf. As he scans the world for opportunities, his gaze lands on the Amazon rainforest – not as a vital ecosystem, but as a vast treasure trove of resources. Once stripped of its riches, he envisions it transformed into prime real estate. His grand plan? A vast playground resort, complete with manicured golf courses, imported palm trees and artificial lakes.
His team moves swiftly, bulldozing the forest to create a new and artificial landscape. It sounds like something straight out of a dystopian novel, absurd and almost cartoonish. Yet, in today’s world – where greed and wealth trumps ecological responsibility – this scenario seems disturbingly plausible; a reckless decision, corrupt deal, or self-serving agenda dictating the future of an entire ecosystem.
Sadly this thought experiment is not so far removed from reality. The Amazon – Earth’s largest and most biodiverse rainforest – is yet to be bulldozed for leisure but it is steadily being destroyed through fire and for commercial gain. The World Resources Institute reports that across the tropics, 6.7 million hectares or primary rainforest were lost in 2024, equivalent to 18 soccer fields per minute.
A study by the Amazon Network of Georeferenced Socio-Environmental Information (RAISG) reports that between 2001 and 2020, the Amazon lost over 54.2 million hectares, or almost 9% of its forests, an area the size of France. And it could lose half this area again in the current five-year period.
The Amazon spans over 685 million hectares, enough to fit the UK nearly 30 times. But its true worth isn't just in its vastness – it's in the incredible life teeming within it. Home to millions of species, the Amazon is responsible for at least 10% of the world’s known biodiversity according to WWF.
From jaguars and pink river dolphins to poison dart frogs and plastic-eating fungi, the rainforest and its rivers are a vibrant mosaic of life in every form. Losing it wouldn't just spark global sorrow; it would send ripples through ecosystems worldwide, unraveling the delicate balance of life.
Now, imagine the Amazon not just as a forest, but as one of the world’s biggest and diverse pharmacies. Over 40,000 plant species live there, some of which have already given us life-saving medicines – quinine for malaria and cancer treatments from periwinkle – and only a tiny fraction of these plants have been studied for their potential. If the Amazon were destroyed, we’d not just lose these life-saving plants, but we would also close the door on cures that remain hidden in the forest.
The Amazon is more than a refuge for wildlife – it is the ancestral home of between 385 and 500 Indigenous tribes, each with their own rich languages, cultures, and spiritual bonds to the land. For these communities, the forest is not merely a habitat, but a sacred presence: a family member, a teacher, and a living archive of knowledge and wisdom. To destroy or replace the Amazon is to sever this deep-rooted connection; it is to erase centuries of knowledge that has evolved through coexistence with nature. This would not only be a moral failure; it would be an irreplaceable loss on understanding how to live in harmony with nature.
Millions of Indigenous communities and local farmers would be forced to flee, becoming ecological refugees in search of shelter. Cities already struggling with overcrowding would be overwhelmed, their resources stretched thin. The result? Rising tensions, social unrest, and even potential civil conflict that could trigger a chain reaction of chaos and instability throughout regions.
And it’s not just the local communities who would feel it: the Amazon is at the centre of climate regulation, playing a huge role in weather and rainfall patterns across South America. Without it, this delicate water cycle would fall apart, causing widespread droughts and water shortages. Meanwhile, destroying the forest would release over 90 billion tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere – double the world’s annual fossil fuel emissions. Suddenly, extreme weather events would be more frequent, agriculture would struggle, and food prices would soar. And as millions are displaced and resources run dry, the whole world would feel the impact.
Imagining the loss of the Amazon may seem an absurdity but it’s a real reflection of the mindset that drives the destruction on a daily basis; an emblem for short-term greed and neglect for long-term consequences.
We can't afford to take fragile ecosystems for granted. The fate of the Amazon isn’t just a local issue – it’s a global one. The Amazon gives us air, water, medicine and culture. When we talk about the Amazon, we’re talking about much more than trees – we’re talking about the future of our planet.
It was with this awareness that we launched Solidarity Trade; a conscious step to stand in true solidarity, not only with the Kayapó people but with all Indigenous communities fighting to protect their lands and their right to thrive. It was a pledge to honour cultures deeply connected to the lands that have shaped and nurtured them, while also making sure that those ecosystems endure for generations to come.
Like the Indigenous communities we seek to support, we believe these forests hold far greater value when standing. That’s why we’re so excited about our new collaboration with Radek’s Chocolate – a company deeply rooted in the same principles. The new truffle bar – a blend of the Kayapó’s wild-harvested Brazil nuts and cacao from a nature reserve in the Dominican Republic – is an embodiment of what true ethical sourcing, biodiversity conservation, and shared values look like: a delicious fusion of social impact, environmental stewardship and exceptional quality.
This post is not only meant to inspire reflection but to celebrate what we can accomplish together in protecting these vital ecosystems. Above all, it serves as a powerful reminder of the impact we can make through collective action.
Albert, J. S., Carnaval, A. C., Flantua, S. G., Lohmann, L. G., Ribas, C. C., Riff, D., ... & Nobre, C. A. (2023). Human impacts outpace natural processes in the Amazon. Science, 379(6630), eabo5003. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abo5003
Feeley, K. J., & Silman, M. R. (2009). Extinction risks of Amazonian plant species. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(30), 12382–12387. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0900690106
Liu, B., Su, J., Chen, J., Cui, G., & Ma, J. (2013). Anthropogenic halo disturbances alter landscape and plant richness: A ripple effect. PLoS ONE, 8(2), e56109. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0056109
Marques, L. (2024). Crossing tipping points in the Amazon rainforest: The decisive decade. The Highlander, 3(2), 4–33.
Newman, E. B. (1994). Earth's vanishing medicine cabinet: Rain forest destruction and its impact on the pharmaceutical industry. American Journal of Law & Medicine, 20(4), 479–501. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0098858800008354
Plotkin, M. J. (2020). The Amazon: What everyone needs to know. Oxford University Press.
World Weather Attribution. (2024). Climate change, not El Niño, main driver of exceptional drought in highly vulnerable Amazon River Basin. https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/climate-change-not-el-nino-main-driver-of-exceptional-drought-in-highly-vulnerable-amazon-river-basin/
WWF. (2022). The Amazon in crisis: Forest loss threatens the region and the planet. https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/the-amazon-in-crisis-forest-loss-threatens-the-region-and-the-planet?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Wunderling, N., Staal, A., Sakschewski, B., Hirota, M., Tuinenburg, O. A., Donges, J. F., Barbosa, H. M. J., & Winkelmann, R. (2022). Recurrent droughts increase risk of cascading tipping events by outpacing adaptive capacities in the Amazon rainforest. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(32), e2120777119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2120777119
Have you driven or cycled past our front door and wondered what goes on behind it? On Saturday 21st June we opened our big Bean Store doors for a chance to shop with us in person and have a look behind the scenes. We'll be doing it again.
We mill British-grown wholemeal red millet flour through our stone mill in Suffolk. The crop was grown by Andrew Lingham at Court Farm in Kent and is a species called Panicum miliaceum, a proso millet probably domesticated in what is now northern China 10,000 years ago. But what is millet - or rather, what are millets?
