abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb
Article

28 Mar 2017

Author:
Marisa Bellantonio, Glenn Hurowitz, Anne Leifsdatter Grønlund and Anahita Yousefi, RFN and Mighty Earth

Bolivia & Brazil: Mighty Earth report claims that Bunge, Burger King, Cargill and ADM are involved in increasing deforestation & impacts on climate change; companies comment

See all tags

“The ultimate mystery meat-Exposing the secrets behind burger king and global meat production”, February 2017

...Burger King has a lot to hide:...[it]...has failed to adopt any serious policies to protect native ecosystems in the production of its food...[It]...has...turned down requests from civil society organizations to commit to only buying from suppliers who don't engage in destruction of forests, or to provide information about where its commodities originate...[It]...scored a zero on the Union of Concerned Scientists’ 2016 scorecard of major beef sellers’ deforestation profiles...[I]n Brazil and Bolivia...soy production on an industrial scale is fueling massive deforestation...To overcome Burger King’s lack of transparency, we used satellite mapping, supply chain analysis tools, interviews with soy growers and an extensive field investigation to uncover deforestation linked to agribusiness giants in the company’s supply chain...[W]e found the footprint of the major trading companies that sit astride global agriculture and supply Burger King and other food companies...Cargill, Bunge, and ADM buy grain, build silos and roads, provide farmers with fertilizer, and even finance land-clearing operations...Cargill and Bunge are the two soy traders most closely linked to deforestation...[: they]...purchase soy from farmers...[And]...finance roads and other infrastructure, and provide fertilizers and other resources to farmers, giving them a direct role in driving deforestation across the agricultural frontier. Bunge is the leading company linked to deforestation risk in the Cerrado over the last five years, with Cargill second...[A]gribusiness has had a long history of land grabbing, destruction and violence...[M]ore indigenous forest defenders had been killed in Brazil than in any other country. Most of the murders took place in the regions with the most land-grabbing for cattle ranches and soy plantations...[I]ndigenous defenders have been murdered by hit men hired by unscrupulous agricultural interests...Cargill and other traders are also connected to the clearing of this global biodiversity hot spot...in Bolivia...More than 80% of...[greenhouse gas emissions]...come from deforestation...Local and indigenous populations often suffer the consequences of deforestation...Soy producers, ranchers, and illegal logging interests have often used violence to displace lowland groups like the Guaraní people from their ancestral land...

[It refers to McDonald’s, Wal-Mart and Wendy’s]

Timeline