Soy trader Cargill has been hit with a legal challenge in the US over its alleged failure to tackle environmental and human rights abuses in its Brazilian operations.
Environmental law group ClientEarth says Cargill has turned a blind eye to illegal deforestation happening in it’s soy supply chains in the Amazon and Cerrado regions, from which it sources most of soy, in a complaint filed on Thursday.
It claims Cargill is not properly monitoring the vast quantities of soy bought from third-party suppliers in order to identify and eliminate links to deforestation.
Cargill’s soy-based feed is sold to an array of meat processers in the UK, including Avara and Pilgrim’s, which in turn sell to supermarkets such as Tesco and Asda.
ClientEarth argues a failure to monitor would be a breach of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines which are government-backed recommendations to big business on responsible conduct across areas such as labour rights and the environment.
Cargill said in a statement that in line with it’s “unwavering commitment to eliminate deforestation and conversion in South America, we do not source soy from farmers who clear land in protected areas and have controls in place to prevent non-compliant product from entering our supply chains”.
“If we find any violations of our policies, we take immediate action in accordance with our grievance process”, it added.
Its website also refers to a “sophisticated” monitoring system that draws on satellite data to surveil operations at ports, warehouses and other sections of its supply chains to help identify any wrongdoings.
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However, ClientEarth claims there are still shortcomings in its due diligence processes – particularly for soy bought from third-party traders – amid recent reports that linked the company’s Brazil soy operations to the illegal clearing of land.
“As one of the largest soy traders sourcing from Brazil, Cargill should be leading the world’s best practice to stop soy linked to deforestation and human rights abuses from flooding the global food market,” said ClientEarth lawyer Laura Dowley.
“Instead, its shoddy due diligence raises the risk that the meat sold in supermarkets across the world is raised on so-called ‘dirty’ soy.”
Dowley added: “When you consider the huge resources Cargill has at its disposal and the critical state of the Amazon, Atlantic Forest and Cerrado, to not carry out deforestation checks on large parts of its extensive supply chain and soy operations is inexcusable.
“Cargill already has the know-how to do due diligence properly – it must start urgently putting it into practice.”
Cargill, which is the largest privately-owned company in the US with revenues last year of $165bn (£131bn), has previously committed to making all its agricultural supply chains deforestation-free by 2030.
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An investigation last month by environmental activist organisation Mighty Earth and a group of Brazilian researchers found Cargill had bought soya beans from third-party suppliers that engaged in illegal clearing of Cerrado land.
The OECD’s US National Contact Point is now responsible for determining whether ClientEarth’s claims are substantiated before moving forward with any legal action.
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