Like many Latin American countries, Brazil suffers from high rates of malnutrition. This is counterintuitive, as Brazil’s economy is rapidly growing. Additionally, as the Atlantic Rainforest borders the coast of Brazil and cuts into Paraguay and Argentina, one would assume that their soil would reap bountiful resources. Sadly, this is not the case. Brazil raised it’s rainforest to produce sugar cane, causing the burning of thousands of miles of land per year. Sugar cane is exhausting the soil, resulting in the immigration of cattle farmers to this shattered land.
Environmental degradation is one of the largest issues affecting areas such as Sao Paulo. Thankfully, Moringa has taken Brazil by storm, offering a possible answer to the agricultural and environmental problems affecting the Brazilian population. The key to rehabilitating Brazil’s depleted soil is to use agroforestry to minimize wind erosion, reestablish tree cover, and feed livestock to increase the living conditions of the families living there. Such practices have been set into motion thanks to a combination of non-profits. One particularly active NGO is Trees for the Future; their long term programs aim to reduce low agricultural production, rural poverty, and environmental destruction. Volunteers work together with local schools through the Moringa program to incorporate moringa into school lunches. Along with distributing moringa powder, they also purify water; this increases overall community health previously plagued by water borne illness. Exciting steps are being taken towards bridging the gap in malnutrition and environmental erosion. If we continue to harness the power of the Moringa Oleifera tree, there is no saying to what extent the world as a whole can achieve.
