According to a recent study published in Science Magazine, more than 90 percent of tropical deforestation is driven not by logging but by agriculture.
Because of the direct link between the destruction of the world’s ecosystems and climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has found that industrial agriculture is nearly as big a driver of climate change as the emissions of all planes, cars, trucks, trains, buses and ships in the world combined.
Agricultural products such as soy, palm oil, and beef are the primary drivers behind this deforestation. Soy cultivation, for example, is a significant contributor to deforestation in Brazil, where forests are cleared to make way for soy plantations. Similarly, in Southeast Asia, rainforests are being replaced with palm oil plantations to meet the global demand for palm oil, which is used in a wide range of consumer products.
As the largest agricultural company in the world, Cargill presents both the greatest opportunity and the greatest obstacle to removing nature’s destruction from the agricultural supply chain.
In short, industrial agriculture is driving the destruction of the world’s ecosystems, and Cargill is behind the wheel.
Although Cargill has promised to end deforestation practices for products in its supply chain, they have not yet fulfilled those commitments, and the company continues to invest in ports, trains, and other infrastructure in South America that will directly or indirectly destroy the forests and other ecosystems they have committed to save.
The Impact on Indigenous Communities
The destruction of the natural world driven by Cargill’s activities has had profound impacts on Indigenous communities living in these biodiverse ecosystems. In the Amazon and the Cerrado, Indigenous peoples who depend on the land for their livelihoods, culture, and way of life find themselves increasingly encroached upon by agricultural expansion.
The conversion of forests and other natural ecosystems to industrial plantations not only destroys the biodiversity these communities rely on but also leads to conflicts over land rights, as Indigenous lands are often taken over for agricultural use without consent or compensation. In Southeast Asia, similar patterns of land grabbing and environmental degradation have displaced local communities and threatened their ways of life.
Environmental and Climate Implications
Cargill’s destruction of forests and other ecosystems contributes significantly to global environmental and climate crises. The world’s last forests and other ecosystems, like the Cerrado, are crucial carbon sinks, and their destruction releases large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, exacerbating climate change. The loss of biodiversity also has far-reaching implications for global ecological balance, affecting not only the species that inhabit these ecosystems but also global food security and water cycles.
A new study by Mighty Earth, through its Rapid Response deforestation monitoring program, has found nearly 60,000 hectares of recent deforestation in the Amazon and the Cerrado biomass between September and December 2023 alone, with links to the soy supply chains of the biggest traders, including Cargill.
Cargill has made various commitments to sustainability and deforestation-free supply chains. However, the company’s promises have not been implemented
New Land Isn’t Needed
If Cargill chose, it could lead the way to restoring land instead of clearing it, charting a path to a nature-positive food supply, and providing a living wage to its suppliers–forcing its competitors to do the same. It has been demonstrated time and again that there are already enough degraded and deforested lands—more than 1.5 billion acres (about 2/3 the size of the entire United States, including Alaska) —in Latin America to dramatically expand agricultural production without destroying forests or other intact ecosystems. ¹ ²
- Vergara, Walter et al., The Economic Case for Landscape Restoration in Latin America, World Resources Institute, October, 2016.
- Lomeli, Luciana Gallardo and James Anderson. “Restoring Degraded Land in Latin America Can Bring Billions in Economic Benefits,” World
Resources Institute, October 2016.