The election of populist Jair Bolsonaro to be president of Brazil will likely increase deforestation in the Amazon and the Cerrado amid higher output from the country’s soy and beef industries. Bolsonaro, who was elected on October 28, 2018, has articulated a pro-business agenda and prefers the agriculture industry over preserving the environment and respecting …
This report, which builds on the company profile on SLC Agrícola published by Chain Reaction Research in September 2017, reviews the company’s sustainability and business risks in the last year. The initial report showed that from 2011 to 2017, SLC Agrícola cleared 39,887 ha of land of its original vegetation, of which 30,000 ha was …
Major supermarket retailer Lidl has committed to sourcing sustainable soy for its UK stores starting this month, the company said on October 12, 2018, in an effort to help slow deforestation and other negative environmental impacts. The company’s action marks the first time a UK retailer has pledged to purchase 100 percent sustainably sourced soy. …
Higher Chinese soy imports from Brazil could lead to increased levels of deforestation in the Amazon and the Cerrado. The U.S. trade war with China, which includes tariffs on Chinese soy imports from the U.S., continues to alter global trade flows, increasing the demand for soy from Brazil, where deforestation is on the rise. Amid …
The Cerrado biome, covering over 20 percent of Brazil’s terrain, is a savannah region with high biodiversity and an important function for the water systems in Brazil. The region has experienced significant soy expansion during the last two decades. Soy expansion has been most prevalent in Matopiba, consisting of the states of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí …
Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is a large multinational trader and processor of agricultural commodities. In 2017, it generated USD 60.8 billion in revenue and USD 1.6 billion in net profit and employed over 31,000 people. ADM owns more than 30 silos in Brazil, as well 13 oilseeds processing plants. It also has operations in eight …
Approximately 18 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions comes from deforestation. Palm oil and soybeans are two of the four main crops driving deforestation, next to other environmental and social problems. Investor awareness regarding the material risks emerging in the palm oil sector has grown, but soy-related risks are not yet widely recognised. This paper …
From 2000 through 2011, 68 percent of all foreign capital, or USD 18.4 billion, flowing through nine of the top companies in the beef and soy markets in the Amazon was transferred through tax havens, according to a new paper published on August 13, 2018 in Nature Ecology and Evolution. The research highlights how companies …
Amid the U.S.-China trade war, China is importing more soy from Brazil while the United States exports more soy to the European Union and other outlets, which may increase deforestation pressures in Brazil. This shift represents a major risk to efforts to eliminate deforestation on the soy supply chain and is likely to reduce the …
International commodity trader Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) has committed to “eliminate deforestation” and UK supermarket Tesco has committed to “help achieve zero net deforestation” in their soy supply chains. LDC wrote: “We are fully aware that soy production comes with a cost. We are engaging with our stakeholders across the value chain to minimize adverse …
