The southern region of the Amazon Rainforest is being taken over by soy farms. This may be because the soil in the southern area, around Mato Grosso offers very fertile soil which would help soy beans thrive. Deforestation in the rainforest has been a concern for a long time. Even though in 2006 they estimated that deforestation had slowed 11 percent that year, an area 16,700 square kilometers, about the size of Hawaii was forested in 2005 and 2006.
Source: MSNBC.com, , January 26.