US Agribusiness Firms Destroying Brazil's Forests Despite 'Deforestation-Free' Claim - NGO

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th December, 2019) US agribusiness firms Cargill and Bunge continue to fuel ecological destruction through soybean cultivation in a highly deforested area of Brazil, despite the companies' claims of going "deforestation-free," a leading environmental NGO said on Wednesday.

In a report published by Greenpeace's whistleblowing project, Unearthed, the organization stated that Cargill and Bunge continue to export soybeans from the Cerrado region, one of Brazil's most deforested municipalities. Increased soybean production in the region is triggering "violent land conflict" between agribusiness firms and local indigenous communities, the report stated.

The report highlighted the Agronegocio Estrondo estate, where 24 producers operate on an area of over 750,000 acres. The estate is located in the Formosa do Rio Preto municipality, which Unearthed called the center of soya deforestation in the Cerrado region. Up to 80 percent of the property in this region can be legally deforested for soy farming, unlike in the Amazon, where there is currently a moratorium on soy bean trading in newly deforested areas.

According to the report, both Cargill and Bunge have pledged to end deforestation in their supply chains. However, Unearthed doubted these claims.

In May of 2019, Bahia's Institute of Environment and Water Resources granted a deforestation permit for approximately 61,000 acres of land in the Estrondo estate, and the report suggested that the firms continued to source soy from the region.

"Cargill and Bunge continue to export soy from silos within the estate. In 2017, according to supply chain tracking group Trase, Bunge sourced 343,000 tonnes of soy from this municipality � its third most important sourcing region in Brazil � and Cargill exported 73,000 tonnes. Bunge exported Estrondo's soy to the EU as recently as August 2019, according to export documents," the report read.

Unearthed stated that continued soybean production in the Cerrado was having a devastating environmental impact and was also affecting local indigenous populations. Local residents have forged and grazed their animals on land for centuries, but are now facing harassment from private security guards.

"In January, the land dispute flared into violence. Private security guards employed by Estrondo seized Jossone Lopes Leite's cows then shot him in the leg when he asked for them back," the report stated.

Brazil and the United States are the world's two largest soybean producers. Amid the US-China trade dispute, Brazil has stepped up soybean exports to China, where it is primarily used for animals. According to Greenpeace, the area planted with soybean in Brazil has increased by 45 percent since 2010, and these crops are often planted on deforested land.