A moratorium that has protected vital rainforest since 2009 is on shaky ground as several players from Brazil’s soy industry say they are pulling out.
Specifically, the Brazilian industry association ABIOVE, whose members include global companies such as Cofco International, Bunge, Amaggi and JBS, have said they will no longer refrain from growing soy on deforested land. Environmentalists fear this could fuel a new wave of Amazon logging.
A joint statement from several Brazilian environmental organizations involved in monitoring the moratorium said the companies involved were “abandoning clear and transparent rules for short-term financial gain — reopening the door to forest…