I thought I'd just throw this one out here and see what gives.
Here's one link I found explaining (some of) the reasons for this, http://rain-forest-depletion.wikispaces.com/Purposes+of+Deforestation

I like the quote at the beginning there,

Quote

"Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish had been caught will we realize that we cannot eat money."-Cree Indian Proverb

Is there a way for me to see if the meat in the supermarket comes from cattle which has been ex-rainforest farmed?

Probably not, and most likely it has a bunch of this in it too:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_slime

I plan on growing all my own food with in 5 years.

Thanks for the heads up.

Let's hope aquaponics will show to be a real success, maybe they could be adapted to include all kinds of vegetables/fruits/berries/etc just to get away from the need of supermarkets, atleast with regards to buying food that is.

I personally think that within 100-200 years from now there won't be much wildlife left on this small planet, that's something that kids will learn all about on the history channel.
But then people do accept status quo after a while so by then nobody will even question why humanity could let something like that happen, it's just animals and plants after all, it's not like it's oil or coal or U235.

100-200 years from now...?   My, you are optimistic.

Well, I didn't want to sound too cynical, I hope it will come through as more plausible that way.
But yeah, the truth is more in the likes of 50 years from now, by then we will have exterminated say 80-90% of all wildlife.

Would it be possible to take up moon travels again and start colonising the moon?
I'm serious, it could offer a way out of this mess we have down here right now, before it's too late.
We just have to find the right angle for it, as it is right now it's just another unnecessary cost.

Quote from firepinto on March 30th, 2014, 02:21 PM

I plan on growing all my own food with in 5 years.

I plan on doing so as soon as possible.

Be completely self-sufficient and off the grid by having this energy technology, growing food and producing clean water from the tap or air. If a good majority of people on this planet had the skills and were capable of being on their own independently, what would really be the point of depending on money and the system for your survival?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIoMXYBztdg#ws

It's sad when people are in many ways dependent on the system and they will fight, defend and protect it for their survival. If you're not one of us, you're one of them. Are you ready to be unplugged from the system? (maybe in 5 years)

I'm ready, about to execute phase 1