These tropical forests are critically important. Why is this religious sect cutting them down?
Bolivia has become one of the world's fastest-deforesting countries, losing 1.5 million acres of primary forest in 2025 alone, primarily due to agricultural expansion. A significant portion of this deforestation is driven by Mennonite communities clearing land for soy farming and cattle ranching. These activities threaten vital ecosystems like the Amazon and Chiquitano dry forests, which are rich in biodiversity and carbon storage.
- ▪Bolivia lost 1.5 million acres of primary forest in 2025, more than any country except Brazil.
- ▪Mennonites, a mostly white Christian farming community, are a major driver of soy expansion and deforestation in Bolivia.
- ▪Soy farming in Bolivia destroyed approximately 2.2 million acres of forest between 2001 and 2021, according to the Amazon Conservation Association.
- ▪Deforestation in Bolivia is incentivized by land-use laws requiring productive use, such as cattle ranching.
- ▪The cleared forests are part of globally important ecosystems, including the Amazon and Chiquitano dry forests, which store large amounts of carbon.
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ClimateThese tropical forests are critically important. Why is this religious sect cutting them down?What you didn’t know about Mennonites, soy, and Bolivia.by Benji JonesMay 4, 2026, 10:30 AM UTCShareSatellite images show the loss of forest in Bolivia’s eastern lowlands between 1984 and 2022, mostly from expanding farmland. Planet Observer/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesBenji Jones is an environmental correspondent at Vox, covering biodiversity loss and climate change. Before joining Vox, he was a senior energy reporter at Business Insider. Benji previously worked as a wildlife researcher.Over the last few decades, wildfires, farmers, and cattle ranchers have razed millions of acres of tropical forests across the planet.
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