David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank an Cathaoirleach. I will be sharing time with my friend and colleague, Senator McDowell.

I will first turn to South America, to Brazil under the thug Bolsonaro. There are 200,000 acres of Brazilian rainforest burned each day. This is 150 acres lost every minute of every day, which is 78 million acres destroyed every year. Why is the European Union still buying this Brazilian beef? We have farmers and beef producers in this country. We are told it is not our business and that it is in Brazil. It is our business. We are all part of the same planet. We are told Europe did this in the old days. Yes they did, but they did not know or understand the implications of it. This is our planet, we are all involved in it and we are all in it together. Nobody is immune. Is a burger worth buggering up the environment for? I do not believe for one second that it is. There is also the threat to biodiversity, which is very important. We are destroying species of plants and insects throughout the rainforest, including unknown species that have yet to be discovered that may very well have medical applications. Is it worth buggering up our environment for the sake of a burger?