The Stolen Forests

Today on Word of Mouth, how a tree in the Russian forest becomes a toilet seat at Wal-Mart.

We Americans consume more finished wood items than any country on the planet. Every year, each of us use up about 72 cubic feet of wood - from baby cribs to paint brushes, books to tables. But few of us know where the wood is coming from.

It turns out, the stores we buy from don’t know either. There’s a good chance that at least 20 percent of it comes from a country where trees are illegally harvested, and deforestation is rampant. Our increasing demand for wood may be fueling the largest destruction of forests in history.

Raffi Khatchadourian wrote about the illegal logging market for The New Yorker. He joins Word of Mouth with more about this profitable and violent underground business.

Click here to read Raffi Khatchadourian's article, "The Stolen Forests"

(Photo by Ben Alman)