[quote=ThePits]I think the deforestation of rainforests should be classed as a crime against humanity
quote]
Deforestation of forests for raising beef will probably increase in the next years thanks to biofuels. Since ethanol has been a hot topic with commitments from at least the US and Canada, grain prices have been increasing a lot (corn first, then the other substitutes in animal feed, which all have an impact on the cost of meat), which makes the beef raised in other regions (e.g. Brazil and Argentina) more attractive and cheaper - production there will thus likely increase and require land, at the expense of the rainforests. I guess that politically there'll be some nice statements but with only a little done in reality to prevent this.
(Edit - the FAO has tons of stuff on deforestation,
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/...385/index.html being an example:
(...)Delegates of the 46 developing countries present at the Rome workshop signalled their readiness to act on deforestation, 80 percent of which is due to increased farmland to feed growing populations. (...))