Indigenous leaders from Brazil are on a five-week, 12 country tour of Europe to talk about banning products grown on contested or forcibly-taken indigenous land.

They were in Paris November 12 to meet with lawmakers from the European Union. The leaders asked that the EU work to protect the communities living in the Amazon, as well as the earth in it. The leaders have visited Germany, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Amsterdam, Portugal, Belgium, London, and will end in Spain.

Illegal logging is a threat to people that live there. Two tribesmen were killed in early November in a clash with illegal loggers. Leader Alberto Terena said of the tragedy, “Our brothers are dying. We are losing our environment in the name of the market.” Terena said of the Amazon, “The markets are killing our homes. It’s everybody’s house — everybody need this forest to breathe.”

Sonia Guajajara, coordinator of the Association of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil, said, “We can no longer manage to fight this battle alone.”

The Amazon rainforest is a crucial part of the planet for its biodiversity. It also helps absorb the tons of carbon emissions that we pump out. Agriculture, logging and wildfires are all contributing to the destruction of the Amazon. The Amazon is under attack by cattle farming, which accounts for 65% of deforested land.

To help solve the crisis, Terena asked that European consumers help stop deforestation and the ravaging of the Amazon by demanding that companies show the origin of products and finding deforestation-free products.

Check out One Green Planet to learn more about how you can help end deforestation in the Amazon and around the world:

• 7 Companies Working to End Deforestation
• 5 Big Causes of Deforestation and How You Can Stop It
• The Impact of Deforestation and The Importance of Trees
• These Shocking Photos of the Disappearing Amazon Because of Meat Consumption
• Amazon Is Reaching a Point of No Return Thanks to Deforestation – Here’s What You Can Do Right NOW to Save It
• Walmart, Costco, Target, McDonalds and More! Companies Linked to Promoting Amazon Deforestation

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