Cargill accused of blocking deal to end soy-linked deforestation

A four-month investigation by the NGO Mighty Earth found that the agribusiness giant Cargill worked to block a proposed Cop27 deal to end deforestation linked to soy production.

The detailed investigation revealed that senior officers at Cargill blocked the deal in a series of year-long talks in the lead up to the conference. The firm also put pressure on other companies which had promised to end deforestation.

In addition, Mighty Earth found that the company put money, trading revenues and executive bonuses first ahead of preventing deforestation.

Soy production has increased 10-fold over the last 50 years with much of it used to feed livestock. Some is also used to create soybean oil and biofuels.

Key documents released under EU Access to Data law revealed that Cargill soy trade associations lobbied EU climate change officials and denied the impact of soy expansion on deforestation.

It also proposed a more general anti-greenwashing rule covering all regulated firms in a bid to avoid misleading marketing of products.


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It comes after deforestation sourced to a 15 year high during the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro, presenting a challenge for Brazil’s current president Lula. In the month of September 2022 alone, the Amazon rainforest lost an area of rainforest almost equivalent to the size of Greater London.

“Mighty Earth found that fourteen of the world’s biggest agribusinesses were set to agree a global deal and nature destruction linked to soy in the run up to Cop27 in Egypt, but they were blocked by stubborn opposition from Cargill which threw its considerable weight around, and ensured that the deal collapsed,” said Mighty Earth CEO Glenn Hurowitz.

“You simply wouldn’t see the forests and biomes of South America bulldozed at the same alarming scale and pace if Cargill hadn’t sabotaged the world’s largest breakthrough on forests.”

Former UK minister for international environment and climate added: “There are plenty of companies and countries that have managed to break the link between environmental and agricultural commodities, which are the biggest cause.”

“So, it would be unforgivable for a giant company like Cargill to claim publicly to be transforming its supply chain, while at the same time resisting efforts to agree an end to soy-related conversion in the run up to Cop27.”

In an email sent to The Guardian newspaper, responding to the accusations, Cargill said it had “traced 100%” of its “directly sourced volumes” and said it had “actively” worked with the industry to develop the Cop27 Agriculture Sector Roadmap to 1.5C.

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