Satellite monitoring in action – ‘bad’ soy in sustainable animal feed

Aidenvironment research contributed to a television broadcast about deforestation in the Dutch animal feed industry.

Zembla, a Dutch documentary program, released a broadcast on November 25th at NPO2 concerning Brazil’s soy exports linked deforestation and animal feed companies in the Netherlands. Aidenvironment supported the research in Brazil, by providing data on deforestation and fires in several farms from soy producer SLC Agrícola under research. Environmental organisations Greenpeace and Milieudefensie also contributed to the story. News websites, including NOS and Trouw reported on the findings of the documentary, further spreading awareness among consumer groups.

Zembla team consults Aidenvironment map to locate deforestation site. To watch the documentary, visit Plate full of deforestation. | Source: Zembla – BNNVARA, 2021

Since 2016, Aidenvironment monitors deforestation in soy farms, including those under SLC Agrícola. In recent years, we reported on fires detected in Fazenda Palmeira in May 2021, deforestation in Fazenda Parceiro in 2020, and clearing of 5,042 ha of native vegetation in Fazenda Parnaíba in 2020 and 2021. The continued clearing of Cerrado native vegetation in SLC Agrícola’s farms is in violation of the zero-deforestation commitments of the company’s customers, including Cargill, Amaggi LD, and Bunge, and a large portion of downstream soy-consuming industries. 

For continued discussions on supply chain monitoring and our work on zero-deforestation, please reach out to Sarah Drost. More on Aidenvironment’s forest strategy here.