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Ironically, peasant farmers are by far the more efficient producâ€" ers of food. Yet, half a ton of forest is consumed for every quarter pound burger produced. Consequences of clearing rainâ€" forests for ranching and other forms of "development" are comâ€" ing home to roost. With the destruction of the rainforests of the world will come the permaâ€" nent loss of half the earth‘s plant species. From these endangered plants come chemicals we use in medicine to control high blood pressure, _ Hodgkin‘s _ disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson‘s disease and some cancers. rice and maniot to feed themâ€" selves, or even small quantities of cash crops such as coffee and bananas. The peasant farmers are often forced off their land and migrate to the shanty towns, or they clear more of the rainforests and cultivate some crops for a few years. Then the ranchers move in, often aided by their hired assasâ€" sins, and the peasants move off the land once again, or risk being murdered. But there are problems. While beef production for export has increased over the years, Central Americans are eating less beef. With more land in Central America being used for ranching, there remains less land for the poor to plant crops of corn, beans, the top five agricultural exports from Central America. Let‘s consider where, and at what costs, the beef patty we eat is produced. Since the 1950s over twoâ€"thirds of the rainforest area in Central America has been cleared to produce cheap beef for the North American and Euroâ€" pean pet food and fast food marâ€" ket. It seems to make perfect economic sense to import large quantities of beef from Central America when it costs only US$25 to raise a head of cattle in Costa Rica compared to US$95 in Montana. It costs us less to buy a hamburger, and these poor Third World countries get some of our needed monev. Beef is now one of Too much fast food harms our bodies, and the excessive packagâ€" ing fills our garbage dumps. However, my main concern is the beef patty found inside the styroâ€" foam, cardboard or paper wrapâ€" pings of how that hamburger was grown in Central America and made its way to your local chain restaurant? It is the season of the eatâ€"out fast food hamburger. Delicious it may be, but do you know the story Richard P. MacBride Chronicle Special PAGE 22 â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY JUNE 7, 1989 IF GIVING GIVES YOU A WARM FEELING IN YOUR TOES, WE NEED A LOT MORE WARM TOFS. The giving begins with you The real cost of those hamburgers Another serious problem we face is the "greenhouse" effect. Simply put, the earth is heating up becasue we have put too much carbon dioxide into the atmoâ€" sphere through burning down so much of the rainforest, driving our cars, and using too much fossil fuel. This carbon dioxide prevents much of the sun‘s heat from leaving the earth‘s surface or immediate atmosphere. The heating of the earth (global tempâ€" eratures are preducted to rise by four to 15 degrees Fahrenheit in WE ARE VERY PLEASED WITH THE SERVICE HERE." Margaret Rickert, Area Councillor, Alma, Ontario Retail Postal Outlets across the country offer Canada Post customers more access to postal products and services. On average, hours of postal service operation have more than doubled in communities where service has changed from a post office to a Retail Postal Outlet operated by local business. Thousands of rural Canadians can now purchase stamps or pick up mail in the evening or on weekends. Canada Post Corporation is delivering on its promise. We‘re in rural Canada to stay. Councillor Margaret Rickert says the Retail Postal Outlet established in her town, when postal services were converted to a local business, has had a positive impact on the community. We need the service here and I think it‘s very well used." MORE AND MORE CUSTOMERS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS AGREE:: RETAIL POSTAL OUTLETS OFFER BETTER SERVICE FOR YOU. The situation is hopeless only if we ignore it. So what must we do? We can ask staff members of fast food outlets to inform their head offices that they will lose our business if they use beef from Latin America in our burgers. _ half a century) will cause polar ice to melt, sea levels to rise, changes in precipitation patterns, farm belts to become semiâ€"deâ€" serts, and the migration of milâ€" lions of people to more productive, cooler and wetter areas. We must reverse the rate of MAIL >POSTE Our commitment: better service for you worldwide deforestation, which is 10 times the rate of reforestation. Rainforests are truly the world‘s major lungs. We must encourage Third World countries to preserve their rainforests, and to replant trees for those which are selecâ€" tively cut down. This may mean supporting the forgiving of Third World debts of governments willâ€" ing to preserve rainforests and replant trees. But we also need to plant trees locally. The Region of Waterloo can plant more trees in parks, IT‘S A DEFINITE ADVANTAGE FOR US."* Jeff Scott, businessman, Alma, Ontario & ce ulc 4 l arate es t o ht oo w sys se l 5 Homeowners and community groups can join in this task of slowing down the global warming trend by planting trees. Just as we found creative ways to address the energy crisis in the 1970s (and saved money as well), we must find solutions individuâ€" ally, and collectively, to depleting our forested areas. % # & Richard MacBride works for the Church Program®of Global Comâ€" munity Centre in Waterloo. greenbelts and along major roads.