Ministry, Agriculture, and Food Comas

Today was our first full day in Brazil. We had a little later start to the day which allowed us to catch up on some sleep from our busy travel days. We had two primary presentations today that really allowed us to learn more about agriculture in Brazil. These were presentations we heard by the Ministry of Agriculture  at the Ministry and Embrapa at the Universidade de Brasilia. There was great discussion on Brazilian Agriculture at both. Some of the emerging facts are below:

• Brazil is a major player in agriculture. They lead the world in many areas of production and exports.
• Brazil leads the world in agriculture trade surplus.
• Brazil has the greatest agriculture potential of any other country in the world when you look at land and water availability. 
• Brazil is a leader in environmental protection with much of their land set aside in natural habitats. Farmers must keep anywhere from 20% - 80% of their agricultural land in natural reserves depending on what part of the country they are in. 
• Brazil has found away to be carbon neutral in beef production. 

Along with a great day of learning we had a great day of feasting as well. We started off our morning with a delicious traditional Brazilian breakfast consisting of a variety of fresh fruits, bread, eggs, meats, cheeses, and fresh juices. For lunch we enjoyed a Churrascaria where we hand plentiful fresh veggies, meat, fish, and sides. We wrapped up our feasts with a dinner of all you can eat pizza. Many had a favorite of desert pizza with ice cream and chocolate. Many felt they were in a food coma and may not need to eat for days. Thankfully we walked some of it off with a walk around the Universidade of Brasilia, but unfortunatley this left us a little wet from a heavy rain. Tomorrow we are off to Goiania with a stop in Pirenopolis.