This was the hot spot of deforestation in 2003 and 2004, when clearing and fires peaked at the highest levels in a decade. In the state of Mato Grosso alone, an area larger than Massachusetts — more than 8,500 square miles — was cleared or cut down over the course of those two years, according to figures from the government’s National Institute of Space Research.

Soy production has doubled in the past decade in the state of Mato Grosso. And the Conservancy is expanding its project into this region, which has become a global epicenter of agricultural expansion. “The whole point of Santarém is that we can leverage it into Mato Grosso,” says the Conservancy’s Cleary, “because Mato Grosso is where we really need to be.”

The Golden Chainsaw

Greenpeace’s protests in 2006 did more than influence Cargill. A number of Brazilian industry groups took notice after protesters dumped tons of soy at the gates of Cargill’s European headquarters outside London, and when Greenpeace’s signature dinghies blocked a ship carrying Amazonian soy from entering a Dutch port.

In July 2006, the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (ABIOVE) and the National Association of Grain Exporters — which together represent 92 percent of Brazil’s soybean buyers and exporters — agreed to a moratorium on purchasing soy from areas deforested after July 2006.

“The world is changing and the game is changing and new rules apply and we need to play to them,” says ABIOVE president Carlo Lovatelli. “Brazil plays a central role in agribusiness exports, and our friends in Europe are doing more and more to keep our enthusiasm under control.”

But the moratorium is far from being a silver bullet. The deal lasts only two years and applies only to the “Amazonian Biome,” an area in which just 3 percent of Brazil’s soy is grown. In addition, it makes no mention of legal compliance and commits no resources to enforcement or monitoring.

And yet many involved agree that the moratorium is a step forward. If managed properly, it could serve as a model for future bans in other areas threatened by soy and its expansion. “I think that everybody will eventually accept that products need to be responsibly sourced,” says the Conservancy’s Cleary.

Cleary hopes that the growing pressure on soy producers, together with the model created by the Responsible Soy Project around Santarém, can change the way companies operate in Brazil. Cargill is not the only international heavy hitter with a stake in Brazil’s massive soy market. Other big players include U.S.-based Bunge Limited and Archer Daniels Midland, and the biggest soy exporter in the world: Brazil’s own Grupo A.Maggi. 

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Nature picture credits: All Photos © Alex Webb/Magnum Photos