Deforestation, the Amazon, & Patchett's State of Wonder

From yesterday's "Brazil supermarkets 'to avoid Amazon meat:'"

The main group representing supermarkets in Brazil says it will no longer sell meat from cattle raised in the rainforest. The Brazilian Association of Supermarkets, which has 2,800 members, hopes the deal will cut down on the illegal use of rainforest for pasture. Deforestation in the Amazon has slowed over the past years but invasion of public land continues to be a problem. Huge swathes have been turned into land for pasture and soy plantations. 

For a novel set in the Amazon, try State of Wonder by Ann Patchett:

As Dr. Marina Singh embarks upon an uncertain odyssey into the insect-infested Amazon, she will be forced to surrender herself to the lush but forbidding world that awaits within the jungle. Charged with finding her former mentor Dr. Annick Swenson, a researcher who has disappeared while working on a valuable new drug, she will have to confront her own memories of tragedy and sacrifice as she journeys into the unforgiving heart of darkness.