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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian supermodel-turned-environmental activist Gisele Bundchen is responding to criticism from a Cabinet minister.
Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias accused Bundchen of tainting the country's image abroad. Speaking in a radio interview Monday, the minister called the super model a "bad Brazilian" for denouncing deforestation.
Bundchen responded late Wednesday with a statement saying she would "be happy to announce positive actions" taken toward sustainable development.
In her post, Bundchen says that she is surprised her name was mentioned negatively and that her criticisms of deforestation in Brazil have been based on science.
Bundchen cites a government report saying deforestation in Brazil rose nearly 14 percent from August 2017 to July 2018. She those behind illegal land occupation are the "bad Brazilians."
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