Global Forests, Local Action: Linda Walker

Forests are essential to life on earth - they filter the air we breathe and the water we drink; they help mitigate against climate change, they provide essential food and medicines for indigenous communities around the globe, and they provide places for us to relax and recharge. Forests also provide products made from trees that we use every day - wood, paper, food, rayon, even rubber tires! But forests are under threat, from deforestation and forest degradation. In 2022, the world lost more than 16 million acres of forest around the globe -an area bigger than West Virginia-according to the 2023 Forest Declaration Assessment. Some of that is related to illegal and unsustainable logging; a lot is related to clearing forests for agricultural commodity production like palm oil, beef, soy, rubber, cocoa and wood pulp.
How can we as consumers be part of the solution to keep forests standing and healthy in some of the world’s most valuable forests? The answer: with choices that we make every day. Come learn about how each of us can make a difference with what we buy - or don’t buy - to support sustainable forestry, and businesses that are showing leadership compared with their peers. We will also share more about the FOREST Act that was just introduced with bipartisan support in Congress late last year.