Green Celebrities: Channing Tatum

Channing Tatum is one of Hollywood’s most recognisable heartthrobs. But he’s not just a pretty face. The actor is passionate about the environment and protecting the Amazon rainforest is top of his list. Here’s what makes Channing Tatum a green celebrity.

Passionate about protecting the Amazon rainforest

Channing Tatum works with PlantMed, an organisation that works with indigenous people in the Amazon. Its mission is to raise awareness of the effects of deforestation, not just on climate change.

The rainforest is a huge source of medicinal plants. These could potentially revolutionise the treatment of some chronic and infectious diseases. That’s why, PlantMed says, protecting the rainforest is so important.

Working with indigenous people

When it comes to knowledge of how the Amazon’s plants can heal, the locals know their stuff. PlantMed has enabled indigenous people to work with scientists and entrepreneurs to build a research centre studying Amazonian medicine.

Channing Tatum: Preserving potential cures

Amazonian plant medicines have been used for thousands of years. Indigenous people use tens of thousands of plants to cure illnesses. Many of which have never been subject to research. That’s why protecting the Amazon rainforest should be a priority. If we lose the plants, we lose their healing capabilities too.

Though formal research on Amazonian plant medicine is lacking, PlantMed has had amazing results in its own studies. Patients with chronic autoimmune illnesses like Crohn’s disease became symptom-free after treatment. Conditions like Crohn’s are not curable by western medicine.

Raising awareness of deforestation

Getting celebrities like Channing Tatum involved with their cause means that PlantMed has been able to raise awareness about deforestation.

Deforestation in the Amazon occurs due to an unrelenting global need for timber and minerals. The land is also cleared and scorched for cattle ranching.

By 2017, 17% of the Amazon rainforest was lost. However, this means the loss of precious fauna and flora. Indigenous people also lose their homes and wildlife lose their habits. The planet also gets that bit hotter without the trees needed to remove C02 from the atmosphere.

Channing Tatum: what we can do

• Follow in Channing Tatum’s footsteps and get involved with an organisation that actively works to protect it;
• Animal agriculture is a big driver of deforestation. You can do your bit by reducing the amount of meat in your diet.
• When you buy timber products, only buy FSC/PEFC wood. These certifications mean that the wood comes from a sustainably managed forest.

In conclusion, we can’t afford to lose the Amazon rainforest. However, if we want to slow down climate change and have access to game-changing plant medicines, we need to protect it. We need to care. For more articles on all things sustainability, check out the rest of our blog.