On-line version ISSN 1676-0603 MARTINELLI, Luiz Antonio; JOLY,
Carlos Alfredo; NOBRE, Carlos Afonso and SPAROVEK, Gerd. The
false dichotomy between preservation of the natural vegetation
and food production in Brazil. Biota Neotrop. [online]. 2010,
vol.10, n.4, pp. 323-330. ISSN 1676-0603.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1676-06032010000400036. Through the
analysis of census data on land use in Brazil this article shows
that the dichotomy between food production and preservation of
natural vegetation used as the main driver to change the Forest
Code is false. We showed here that Brazil has already cleared an
area large enough that support the production of food, fiber and
bioenergy to meet the requirements of the country and global
markets. We also showed the area of export-oriented crops like
soybean and sugar cane have been expanded significantly in the
last decades, while staple crops like rice and bean have
decreased and the area planted with cassava has been stable for
the last four decades. At the same time