The Low Opportunity Costs of the Amazon Soy Moratorium

Rausch, Lisa; Gibbs, Holly K.

doi:10.3389/ffgc.2021.621685

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…In addition to the observed losses due to logistics and harvest, there are also emissions from deforestation and changes in land use present in all Brazilian biomes (Lima et al 2019 ; Rausch and Gibbs 2021 ). Regardless of the reductions in deforestation observed in the Amazon biome (as a result of the measures in a soy moratorium), biomes such as the Cerrado are vulnerable to Brazilian soybean expansion (Rausch et al 2019 ; Heilmayr et al 2020 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brazilian soybeans as feed for livestock in Europe: an insight into the nitrogen flows

et al. 2023

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Given the agricultural demand to supply animals with food, the scope of today’s soybean production and international trade can influence the nitrogen cycle. Rather than using soybeans from within the region of animal production, animal producers import nutritional supplements from distant growers. This widely opens the biogeochemical cycle of nitrogen, which reduces local recycling and increases carriage of reactive nitrogen via the supply chain. Ultimately, this potentiates the effects of a “nitrogen cascade” process. This study estimates nitrogen flows for Brazilian soybean transported to feed European livestock and attempts to quantify the understanding of how this flow can impact the nitrogen cascade effect. The hypothesis is that the growing trade of Brazilian soybean products is sufficient to spike reactive nitrogen production that can potentially cause distant environmental impacts of the nitrogen cascade. In this respect, the estimation of the nitrogen flows was evaluated using material flow analysis, and the cascade effect was quantified by means of a nitrogen cascade indicator (NCI). Notably, NCI can calculate the released amount of nitrogen in the environment along the entire supply chain of livestock products. NCI-based evaluation of Brazilian soybean products consumed by European livestock indicated the accumulation of nitrogen levels. There was also an increase in nitrogen flows in the Brazilian phase (0.058 Gg in 2007 to 139.86 Gg in 2019 for soybean meal; 584.28 Gg in 2007 to 309.78 Gg in 2019 for soybeans) accompanying a stability in European livestock production. This highlights the necessity for adjustments in nitrogen circularity between all levels of food production and improved strategies of more localised feed autonomy for sustainable global development. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10113-023-02034-1.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brazilian soybeans as feed for livestock in Europe: an insight into the nitrogen flows

et al. 2023

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“…Our results suggest that had companies with an adopted ZDC in the Cerrado implemented their commitments with the same effectiveness as the SoyM, they could have halved observed soy-deforestation in the biome between 2006 and 2015. This estimate assumes that the implementation of ZDCs in the Cerrado would have had the same effect on soy-deforestation as the SoyM, a strong assumption given that the SoyM is supported among more companies, restricted to a comparably small area (Rausch and Gibbs 2021), and located in a region with stricter environmental laws (NVP 2012), providing synergies in monitoring and enforcement of the commitment (Lambin et al 2014, Garrett et al 2019. At the same time, the Cerrado faced high pressure for soy expansion, possibly in part due to displaced demand from the Amazon because of SoyM implementation (Noojipady et al 2017, Rausch et al 2019.…”

Section: Implementation Of Current Zdcs In the Cerrado May Conserve L...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Gaps in adoption and implementation limit the current and potential effectiveness of zero-deforestation supply chain policies for soy

Gollnow

Cammelli

Carlson

et al. 2022

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Tropical deforestation continues despite global efforts to curb forest loss. Corporate zero-deforestation supply chain commitments (ZDCs) have the potential to address this deforestation, especially if strong state-led forest governance is absent. Yet, because ZDC adoption is limited to particular locations and supply chains, these commitments may fall short at reducing regional deforestation and protecting biodiverse ecosystems. Here, we leverage timeseries of spatially explicit corporate commodity sourcing data and ZDC commitments to assess the current and potential effect of ZDCs within soybean supply chains on forest loss and biodiversity. We focus on the Brazilian Amazon, where the first ZDC (Soy Moratorium) was implemented, and the Cerrado, where companies have adopted but not implemented ZDCs. We found that in the Amazon, Soy Moratorium signatories that controlled the market caused a 57% reduction in direct deforestation for soy from 2006 to 2015. In the Cerrado, if companies had implemented their ZDCs with the same relative effectiveness as in the Amazon, deforestation for soy could have been reduced by 46%. Thus, ZDC implementation in the Cerrado via stringent monitoring and enforcement could contribute substantially to forest and habitat conservation. Yet, incomplete ZDC adoption leaves >50% of soy-suitable forests and the biodiversity that they harbor outside the reach of ZDCs. To protect these forests, it is vital to incentivize more companies – including smaller, less publicly exposed traders - to make and implement ZDCs, while also promoting forest governance through public policy.

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Not all supply chains are created equal: The linkages between soy local trade relations and development outcomes in Brazil

Reis,

Bastos Lima,

Russo Lopes

et al. 2024

World Development

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The Low Opportunity Costs of the Amazon Soy Moratorium

Cited by 5 publications

References 14 publications

Brazilian soybeans as feed for livestock in Europe: an insight into the nitrogen flows

Brazilian soybeans as feed for livestock in Europe: an insight into the nitrogen flows

Gaps in adoption and implementation limit the current and potential effectiveness of zero-deforestation supply chain policies for soy

Not all supply chains are created equal: The linkages between soy local trade relations and development outcomes in Brazil

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