Brazil Abandons Soy Moratorium, Opening Area The Size Of Portugal To New Deforestation [View all]

One of the key agreements for Amazon rainforest protection – the soy moratorium – has been suspended by Brazilian authorities, potentially opening up an area the size of Portugal to destruction by farmers. Coming less than three months before Brazil hosts the Cop30 climate summit in Belém, the news has shocked conservation groups, who say it is now more important than ever that consumers, supermarkets and traders stand up against Brazilian agribusiness groups that are using their growing political power to reverse past environmental gains.

Brazil is the world’s biggest soya bean exporter. The legume, used largely for animal and fish feed, is one of the most widely grown crops in Brazil, and posed a huge deforestation threat to the Amazon rainforest until stakeholders voluntarily agreed to impose a moratorium and no longer source it from the region in 2006. The voluntary agreement brought together farmers, environmentalists and international food companies such as Cargill and McDonald’s, and determined that any detection of soya beans planted on areas deforested after 2008 would result in the farm being blocked from supply chains, regardless of whether the land clearance was legal in Brazil.

In the 19 years since, the moratorium has been hailed as a conservation success story that has improved the reputation of global brands, enabled soy production to expand significantly without Amazon destruction and prevented an estimated 17,000 sq km of deforestation.

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olitically, the timing could not be more embarrassing for the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. In November, Brazil will stage the first climate conference to be held in the Amazon, which the hosts had hoped would be a showcase for the gains it has made in reducing deforestation. But in the Brazilian congress, the dominant agribusiness lobby has passed legislation that undermines indigenous land demarcation and the environmental licensing system, a step that conservation groups have described as the biggest setback in 40 years. The new ruling on the soy moratorium adds to the retreat.

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/aug/21/brazil-authorities-suspend-key-amazon-rainforest-protection-measure

Ed. Fine. Burn, choke, die. Fuck you, Brazil.