--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When cattle ranchers clear rain forests…" description: "\"When cattle ranchers clear rain forests to raise beef to sell to fast-food chains that make hamburgers to sell to Americans, who have the highest rate ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/paul-hawken-3831_american_when-cattle-ranchers-clear-rain-forests_258427.png" --- # When cattle ranchers clear rain forests to raise beef to… ![“When cattle ranchers clear rain forests to raise beef to sell to fast-food chains that make hamburgers to sell to Americans, who have the highest rate of heart disease in the world (and spend the most money per GNP on health care), we can say easily that business is no longer developing the world…” quote by Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/paul-hawken-3831_american_when-cattle-ranchers-clear-rain-forests_258427.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/paul-hawken-3831_american_when-cattle-ranchers-clear-rain-forests_258427.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/paul-hawken-3831_american_when-cattle-ranchers-clear-rain-forests_258427.png) > “When cattle ranchers clear rain forests to raise beef to sell to fast-food chains that make hamburgers to sell to Americans, who have the highest rate of heart disease in the world (and spend the most money per GNP on health care), we can say easily that business is no longer developing the world. We have become its predator.” [Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Business practices that exploit nature turn humanity into a predator, harming both planet and health. **In simple terms:** Exploiting nature makes us predators harming health. Key Takeaway Shift to sustainable, regenerative business models. Themes environment business health ethics Mood concerned urgent Type activist analytical When to use this quote - corporate strategy - policy advocacy - consumer choices Key Concepts predation sustainability systemic risk Questions to Reflect On - How can businesses profit while restoring ecosystems? - What policies could curb harmful practices? A Different Perspective Economic pressures can resist change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) [Become](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/become/) [Beef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beef/) [Beef Sell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beef-sell-2553220/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Cattle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cattle/) [Chains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chains/) [Clear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clear/) [Developing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/developing/) [Developing world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/developing-world/) [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Disease World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease-world-565900/) [Easily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easily/) [Fast food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fast-food/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Food chain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food-chain/) [Food Chains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food-chains-1902293/) [Forests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forests/) [Hamburgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hamburgers/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Health care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health-care/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-disease/) [Highest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/highest/) [Longer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longer/) [Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/most/) [Per](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/per/) [Predator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predator/) [Rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rain/) [Raise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/raise/) [Rate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rate/) [Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say/) [Sell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sell/) [Spend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spend/) [Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World Predator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-predator-2553219/) ## Related quotes > [The great virtue of a diversified food economy, like a diverse pasture or farm, is its ability to withstand any shock. 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People form their eating habits as children so they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schlosser/fast-food-chains-spend-a-large-amount-of-marketing-to-get-the/) [Eric Schlosser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schlosser/) > [“I'll become a doctor who can cure any disease! Because... because there's no disease in this world that can't be cured!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-chopper/i-ll-become-a-doctor-who-can-cure-any-disease-because-because-there-s/) [Tony Chopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-chopper/) > [I think the biggest disease the world suffers from in this day and age is the disease of people feeling unloved. I know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-diana/i-think-the-biggest-disease-the-world-suffers-from-in-this-day-and-2/) [Princess Diana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-diana/) > [“I think the biggest disease the world suffers from in this day and age is the disease of people feeling unloved”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-diana/i-think-the-biggest-disease-the-world-suffers-from-in-this-day-and/) [Princess Diana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-diana/) > [Love has killed more than any disease in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-has-killed-more-than-any-disease-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You kill yourself when you hate. It's the worst disease in the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-schiff/you-kill-yourself-when-you-hate-it-s-the-worst-disease-in-the-world/) [William Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-schiff/) > [It's not anthrax or terrorism or AIDS that is the worst ill in our world: The most horrible disease in the world is hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/it-s-not-anthrax-or-terrorism-or-aids-that-is-the-worst-ill-in-our/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [Viewed from the summit of reason, all life looks like a malignant disease and the world like a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/viewed-from-the-summit-of-reason-all-life-looks-like-a-malignant/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I'm looking for things that are really connected - education, both in the developing world and at home. 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Luck is working so hard at your craft, service or enterprise that sooner or later you get a break.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/luck-is-earned-luck-is-working-so-hard-at-your-craft-service-or/) [Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) > [Healing the wounds of the earth and its people does not require saintliness or a political party, only gumption and persistence. 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The more we try to do, the more poverty we will create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/we-can-no-longer-prosper-by-increasing-human-productivity-the-more-we/) [Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) > [Throughout the industrial era, economists considered manufactured capital - money, factories, etc. - the principal factor in industrial production, and perceived natural capital as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/throughout-the-industrial-era-economists-considered-manufactured/) [Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) > [his planet came with a set of instructions, but we seem to have misplaced them. Important rules like don’t poison the water, soil, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/his-planet-came-with-a-set-of-instructions-but-we-seem-to-have/) [Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) > [Sustainability, ensuring the future of life on Earth, is an infinite game, the endless expression of generosity on behalf of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/sustainability-ensuring-the-future-of-life-on-earth-is-an-infinite/) [Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) > [Sustainability is an economic state where the demands placed upon the environment by people and commerce can be met without reducing the capacity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/sustainability-is-an-economic-state-where-the-demands-placed-upon-the/) [Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) [Explore all 121 Paul Hawken quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) ## More American quotes > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. 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