UK supermarkets will seek soy alternatives if Amazon protections weakened
Jonathan Watts
THE GUARDIAN
British supermarkets will look at alternatives to Brazilian soy if president Jair Bolsonaro and congress passes new legislation this week to weaken protections for the Amazon rainforest.
Provided by The Guardian Photograph: Evaristo Sa/AFP/Getty Images
Retailers and industry groups told the Guardian they will seek different suppliers and accelerate efforts to find soy substitutes if Brazilian politicians pass bills to legitimise land-grabbing and loosen controls on new projects.
The proposed new laws – dubbed the “destruction package” by environmental groups – are seen as the greatest threat to the rainforest and other globally essential ecosystems since the ultra-rightwing leader took power.
The bills are being rushed through the upper and lower house following Bolsonaro’s public promise to halt illegal deforestation at last month’s climate summit hosted by US president Joe Biden.
Related: Joe Biden’s billions won’t stop Bolsonaro destroying the Amazon rainforest | Marina Silva and Rubens Ricupero
Amid signs the Amazon is nearing a emergency, where the rainforest will worsen rather than ease climate instability, a growing number of international companies are threatening Brazil with financial consequences.
Last month more than 40 European businesses, including many British retailers signed an open letter urging Brazilian senators and deputies not to push ahead with the legislation.
The primary focus of their concern is a bill that would legalise invasion and deforestation of extensive tracts of public land.
Bolsonaro’s government initially submitted this plan as a provisional measure but it was defeated last year. Since then, the unpopular proposal has been revived and renamed PL2633, and could be tabled for a vote as early as this week.
Related: So what has the rest of the world promised to do about climate change?
Brazilian civil society groups have warned this measure would encourage land-grabbing and forest clearance in the future. The independent deforestation watchdog Imazon estimates this could cause deforestation of up to 1.6m hectares (3.9m acres) by 2027, equivalent to five times the carbon emissions of France.
Two other bills are also being debated. One – named PL3729 – aims to accelerate new road, hydropower and railway construction in the Amazon by dismantling rules on environmental impact assessments for infrastructure projects. It was approved by the lower house last week.
Retailers and industry groups told the Guardian they will seek different suppliers and accelerate efforts to find soy substitutes if Brazilian politicians pass bills to legitimise land-grabbing and loosen controls on new projects.
The proposed new laws – dubbed the “destruction package” by environmental groups – are seen as the greatest threat to the rainforest and other globally essential ecosystems since the ultra-rightwing leader took power.
The bills are being rushed through the upper and lower house following Bolsonaro’s public promise to halt illegal deforestation at last month’s climate summit hosted by US president Joe Biden.
Related: Joe Biden’s billions won’t stop Bolsonaro destroying the Amazon rainforest | Marina Silva and Rubens Ricupero
Amid signs the Amazon is nearing a emergency, where the rainforest will worsen rather than ease climate instability, a growing number of international companies are threatening Brazil with financial consequences.
Last month more than 40 European businesses, including many British retailers signed an open letter urging Brazilian senators and deputies not to push ahead with the legislation.
The primary focus of their concern is a bill that would legalise invasion and deforestation of extensive tracts of public land.
Bolsonaro’s government initially submitted this plan as a provisional measure but it was defeated last year. Since then, the unpopular proposal has been revived and renamed PL2633, and could be tabled for a vote as early as this week.
Related: So what has the rest of the world promised to do about climate change?
Brazilian civil society groups have warned this measure would encourage land-grabbing and forest clearance in the future. The independent deforestation watchdog Imazon estimates this could cause deforestation of up to 1.6m hectares (3.9m acres) by 2027, equivalent to five times the carbon emissions of France.
Two other bills are also being debated. One – named PL3729 – aims to accelerate new road, hydropower and railway construction in the Amazon by dismantling rules on environmental impact assessments for infrastructure projects. It was approved by the lower house last week.
European diplomats have said that Brazilian companies are paying an increasingly high premium for the country’s environmental pariah status under Jair Bolsonaro.
The other – PL191 – would loosen restrictions on commercial activities inside indigenous territory, which is currently the best protected land in the Amazon and home to about one-third of the forest’s carbon stock. This is to be considered by a special parliamentary commission.
Even before the passage of this legislation, environmental concerns are also hitting a new pitch. Last year, the Amazon suffered its worst fire season in a decade as farmers and land-grabbers cleared forest and burned felled trees. Last month, satellite data from Brazil’s national space research institute showed deforestation increased 43% in April compared with the same period last year.
UK retailers’ most effective response is likely to be a cut in purchases of Brazilian soy, which is a major driver of deforestation. “If this bill comes to pass, companies will be looking at supply chains and seeing if there are other ways to responsibly source commodities. This could be alternative sources of soy and alternatives to soy. Both are on the table if retailers can no longer trust soy from Brazil to be responsibly sourced,” said Peter Andrews, head of sustainability at the British Retail Consortium.
Related: Food giants accused of links to illegal Amazon deforestation
Waitrose said it would do its utmost to help stop deforestation and clearance in the Amazon and in other vital ecosystems. “We are working tirelessly with our suppliers, the wider industry, government, and NGOs to ensure we source soya sustainably,” said a spokesperson. “Alongside this, we’ve been working on innovative animal nutrition for many years, and will continue with our longstanding research on sustainable soya alternatives.” The company said it has already reduced the use of soya in many supply chains and substituted it completely in its dairy farms with domestically produced fodder.
The Co-op’s head of food policy, Cathryn Higgs, described the new legislation as a fresh threat to the Amazon and the credibility of environmental protections in Brazil. “Its rainforest is essential to planetary health so we’re disappointed to see that the Brazilian government has decided to continue pushing this measure through despite the widespread opposition within Brazilian society, agribusiness, and the international community,” she said. “If these new laws are brought in we will have no choice but to reconsider our support and use of the Brazilian agricultural commodity supply chain.”
Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Lidl and Aldi also signed up to the earlier open letter.
Environmental groups say supermarkets need to back these warnings with action if the bills are passed.
The other – PL191 – would loosen restrictions on commercial activities inside indigenous territory, which is currently the best protected land in the Amazon and home to about one-third of the forest’s carbon stock. This is to be considered by a special parliamentary commission.
Even before the passage of this legislation, environmental concerns are also hitting a new pitch. Last year, the Amazon suffered its worst fire season in a decade as farmers and land-grabbers cleared forest and burned felled trees. Last month, satellite data from Brazil’s national space research institute showed deforestation increased 43% in April compared with the same period last year.
UK retailers’ most effective response is likely to be a cut in purchases of Brazilian soy, which is a major driver of deforestation. “If this bill comes to pass, companies will be looking at supply chains and seeing if there are other ways to responsibly source commodities. This could be alternative sources of soy and alternatives to soy. Both are on the table if retailers can no longer trust soy from Brazil to be responsibly sourced,” said Peter Andrews, head of sustainability at the British Retail Consortium.
Related: Food giants accused of links to illegal Amazon deforestation
Waitrose said it would do its utmost to help stop deforestation and clearance in the Amazon and in other vital ecosystems. “We are working tirelessly with our suppliers, the wider industry, government, and NGOs to ensure we source soya sustainably,” said a spokesperson. “Alongside this, we’ve been working on innovative animal nutrition for many years, and will continue with our longstanding research on sustainable soya alternatives.” The company said it has already reduced the use of soya in many supply chains and substituted it completely in its dairy farms with domestically produced fodder.
The Co-op’s head of food policy, Cathryn Higgs, described the new legislation as a fresh threat to the Amazon and the credibility of environmental protections in Brazil. “Its rainforest is essential to planetary health so we’re disappointed to see that the Brazilian government has decided to continue pushing this measure through despite the widespread opposition within Brazilian society, agribusiness, and the international community,” she said. “If these new laws are brought in we will have no choice but to reconsider our support and use of the Brazilian agricultural commodity supply chain.”
Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Lidl and Aldi also signed up to the earlier open letter.
Environmental groups say supermarkets need to back these warnings with action if the bills are passed.
© Provided by The Guardian Greenpeace activists stage a protest against deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in Vienna. Photograph: Leonhard Föger/Reuters
“If the worst happens, the question customers must ask supermarkets is – what now?” said Anna Jones, head of forests at Greenpeace UK. “The only answer is for Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and others to withdraw from the Brazilian soya market … if not, they remain complicit as Brazil hands meat producers a licence to continue slashing and burning forests, with devastating consequences for indigenous peoples, wildlife and the planet.”
Conservationists believe the government is captive to the ruralista agribusiness lobby, which is trying to push through laws despite widespread opposition among the Brazilian public, many business groups and overseas consumers.
The ruralista lobby is concerned the political winds may be changing as the result of Bolsonaro’s mishandling of the Covid crisis, and the defeat of Donald Trump in the US, who was an ally of the Brazilian president.
Last month Bolsonaro promised “zero illegal deforestation by 2030” – a longstanding target of successive Brazilian governments. But instead of halting land clearance, critics say he is simply making more of it legal.
European diplomats and executives have told the Guardian that Brazilian companies are paying an increasingly high premium for the country’s environmental pariah status.
“Bolsonaro has been very damaging to Brazil’s image. No doubt about it,” said a senior businessman, who asked to remain anonymous. “It’s been a slippery slope. Not long ago, Brazil was on the right path, AAA rated with a strong currency and considered a powerful economy. After years of hard work, that’s now gone.”
Some European manufacturers have become hesitant about putting money into Brazil because they are reluctant to be associated with a nation that is wrecking the Amazon. “The feelings towards Brazil are so negative that when there are head-office discussions about where to invest, nobody wants to put their hand up and champion Brazil,” said a senior diplomat who also asked to remain anonymous.
“If the worst happens, the question customers must ask supermarkets is – what now?” said Anna Jones, head of forests at Greenpeace UK. “The only answer is for Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and others to withdraw from the Brazilian soya market … if not, they remain complicit as Brazil hands meat producers a licence to continue slashing and burning forests, with devastating consequences for indigenous peoples, wildlife and the planet.”
Conservationists believe the government is captive to the ruralista agribusiness lobby, which is trying to push through laws despite widespread opposition among the Brazilian public, many business groups and overseas consumers.
The ruralista lobby is concerned the political winds may be changing as the result of Bolsonaro’s mishandling of the Covid crisis, and the defeat of Donald Trump in the US, who was an ally of the Brazilian president.
Last month Bolsonaro promised “zero illegal deforestation by 2030” – a longstanding target of successive Brazilian governments. But instead of halting land clearance, critics say he is simply making more of it legal.
European diplomats and executives have told the Guardian that Brazilian companies are paying an increasingly high premium for the country’s environmental pariah status.
“Bolsonaro has been very damaging to Brazil’s image. No doubt about it,” said a senior businessman, who asked to remain anonymous. “It’s been a slippery slope. Not long ago, Brazil was on the right path, AAA rated with a strong currency and considered a powerful economy. After years of hard work, that’s now gone.”
Some European manufacturers have become hesitant about putting money into Brazil because they are reluctant to be associated with a nation that is wrecking the Amazon. “The feelings towards Brazil are so negative that when there are head-office discussions about where to invest, nobody wants to put their hand up and champion Brazil,” said a senior diplomat who also asked to remain anonymous.
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