The Brazil nut and the Amazon rainforest are inseparable from one another and as deforestation, forest fires and land grabs destroy the rainforest, a negative chain effect begins. Therefore, the conservation of the Brazil nut and the Amazon rainforest depend on one another, impacting the millions of people who call the Amazon region home.

The Amazon rainforest is one of the most spectacular, biodiverse, and environmentally important regions in the world. Covering an area of ​​more than 5.5 million square kilometers and spanning across various countries in South America, it is the world’s largest rainforest. Located within the rainforest is the hard, tasty, and nutritious Amazon (Brazil) nut. Over the past few decades, the Brazil nut has become one of the most important economic products of the Amazon.

Origin of Brazil Nuts

Brazil nuts are harvested in the wild in the Amazon rainforest. Their trees are huge and often rise above the rainforest canopy. Each tree produces a fruit that holds 10 to 20 individual Brazil nuts. Once these fruits ripen, they fall to the forest floor, waiting to be gathered by harvesters. Attempts to cultivate the tree outside of the wild have failed because the tree requires the Amazon’s vast and complex ecosystem. As a result, Brazil nut production is rarely stable and leads to unpredictable harvesting. Each year, harvesting is dependent on the environmental, economic, and political conditions of the region.

Once Brazil nuts are harvested, they are enjoyed around the world for their delicious flavor, used to enhance recipes or just served as a tasty snack. Plus, they offer a variety of health benefits, being high in fiber, vitamin E, thiamine, and minerals such as selenium, potassium, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, and manganese. They also contain more selenium than any other food on the planet.

Threats against the Amazon rainforest