British meat still using soya feeds from Amazon deforestation
Despite pledges by the major supermarkets and banks, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has discovered that several loopholes and blind eyes are being exploited to feed animals for meat with soya from illegally deforested areas in the Amazon.
According to the report “In 2020 the UK imported more than 140,000 tonnes of soya from [Brazilian] municipalities with at least 7 sq kms of hidden deforestation on soya farms, and about 50,000 tonnes of corn – also used for animal feed.” This is coming from complex supply chains managed by large grain importers and suppliers, including Bunge and Cargill.
Brazilian farmers are growing soya on areas previously used for cattle or corn while deforesting for land for other livestock and crops. This is not covered by any international agreements and is not monitored.
The report quotes from The Retail Soy Group, which represents major retailers including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Lidl and Waitrose saying that the legal protections need strengthening and that were weaknesses and limitations to the existing moratorium on using crops from deforested areas of the Amazon.
You can read the full report here
Suggested Actions
- Find out about Amazon deforestation
- Reduce consumption of meat and dairy, particularly cheap products
- Support initiatives to make the existing moratorium stricter