Soy traders agree to protect Amazon forest.

• Author: Herro, Alana
• Position: EYE ON EARTH

On July 24, the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Producers (ABIOVE) and the National Grains Exporters' Association (ANEC), an industry group representing the world's leading soy exporters, agreed to a two-year moratorium on using soybeans from land that has been cleared for soy cultivation in the Amazon region. The announcement came in the wake of decisions by fast-food giant McDonald's and other major food retailers to stop selling chicken fed on soy from these ecologically fragile areas--putting growing pressure on the soy producers.

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Rising consumer concerns as well as intense campaigning by the environmental group Greenpeace contributed to the industry moves. In April, Greenpeace released a report outlining the links between soy cultivation and regional deforestation, slavery, and violence; it later helped broker the negotiations to discourage these destructive practices. According to the report, vast areas of Amazon forest are cleared each year by slave laborers and replanted with soybean monocultures, destroying valuable habitat for birds, insects, and other animals and contributing to significant human rights abuses.

While celebrating the recent victory, Greenpeace warns that more needs to be done for the ban to have lasting...