Food Additive

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Some 2. 5 million tons of soybeans for delivery to the UK every year,

Some of the UK's largest fast-food chains have to say beans the sale of meat from animals fed soy, combined with Brazil's forest fires, activists.

Some £240m of its soy, the United Kingdom was shipped in 2018, EU trade figures show.

Greenpeace said it wanted to stop The Company , with soybeans from Brazil in their supply chains, The Environment will be better protected.

Brazil's environment Minister told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme, a boycott could make The Situation worse.

a Few 2. 5 million tons of soy each year is imported into the UK, with a large proportion used to feed animals on The Farm .

In 2018, about a third of them - 761,739 tons - came from Brazil, BBC News Analysis of the EU figures showed.

And only 14% of the total soybean imports are certified "deforestation-free" in accordance with the Sustainable Trade Initiative - One of the lowest rates in the EU.

Greenpeace Director of forests Richard George said: "All of the major fast-food companies use soy as a feed, of which nobody knows where It Comes from and soy is One of the largest drivers of deforestation in The World . "

soy-restrictions traders do not have agreed to buy One of the farms linked to the recent deforestation

environmental activists claim, sustained fire in both the Amazon and Cerrado regions of Brazil are lit deliberately to clear land for cattle breeding and the cultivation of crops.

surpassed 144,000, a 50% increase on the same period in the year 2018 - But far less than in 2010.

In 2006, Greenpeace and other environmental groups that negotiated the landmark restrictions for new soy cultivation in the Amazon, not to buy with huge agricultural traders consent, which connected the farms to the recent deforestation.

But the activists say, that has pushed much of the Problem to the South of the Cerrado , a vast tropical Savannah, where The Natural habitat is less well protected.

Brazil's National Institute For Space Research recorded 19,925 fires it in September, significantly higher than The Number of in the Amazon.

In October 2017, 23 brands, including McDonald's, Tesco and Marks & Spencer, under the Cerrado Manifesto, which recognized the need to be signed, to prevent further deforestation.

Temporary ban

But the agricultural trader Cargill, which acts as a middleman between farmers and food companies, has register.

It is the largest importer for the UK, shipping 78% of the soy from Brazil in the year 2017, according to data from Trase. Earth, a partnership of non-governmental organizations. Although, Cargill told Bbc News that the figure was "not accurate and clearly excessive".

In July , Cargill told its Brazilian suppliers, which would not support a temporary ban on soybean grown in the foamed on newly cleared land in the Cerrado - the left-wing environmental groups.

"We remain committed to the soy moratorium in the Amazon region, But we believe that the said is not The Right solution for the Cerrado ," a spokeswoman for.

"don't ask, the firm resolve to end the Problem - it is easy to move. By pressing the farmers to other buyers, the same procedure is continued. "

It has undertaken to Finance the $30m (£24m), new ideas for the termination of deforestation.

A new analysis of satellite data, through the Rapid response project, seen by Bbc News , suggests that Cargill is buying soy directly from farms in the region of the Cerrado is responsible for the forest fires. The Project is a partnership between three groups, Aiden environment, MapHubs and Powerful of the earth.

On a farm, it says, 837 acres (3. 2 square miles) has been cleared in the wooded Savannah between April and June 2019, and fires detected by the satellite images on 23 August.

It is impossible to say, when the harvest of this particular farm was exported, But the trade data shows 7,103 tons of soybeans were shipped from the same municipality, Formosa Do Rio Preto to the UK in the year 2017, the majority of Cargill.

Cargill takes soybeans from The Farm to buy out of the question But says that The Farm meets all the compliance criteria and was not on the Brazilian government's Embargo list.

"as soon as we request in respect of any non-compliance. we presented our complaint process and an investigation is currently ongoing," a spokeswoman for The Company told Bbc News .

"We will act immediately if illegal activity is found. "

retailers' promise

environmental protection groups have tried to increase the pressure on Western retailers.

Tesco, Sainsbury and M& S have all added to achieve zero-deforestation in their supply chains by 2020, although it is assumed that the goal is almost to miss for sure.

environmental groups say that The Fast -food sector is of particular Concern , Burger King and KFC source Some chicken direct from Brazil.

Along with chains such as McDonald's, Nando's, Pret a Manger and Five Guys , they sell British meat reared, at least in part, on soy-shipping from the regions.

the proportion of a feed made of soy can vary greatly between providers, and farms in the UK, with Some a diet of grass and grain.

McDonald's says it works, in order to determine The Level of deforestation, the danger, in certain parts of the Cerrado and of the assessment, whether it be fires lit at the individual farm level.

Other retailers and fast-food outlets, including Waitrose and Nando's, to buy financial credits designed to offset the deforestation risk.

Mr George said: "That sounds convincing, But the actual soy, you can use still come from farms, the destruction of the forests. "

Burger King has been criticised, particularly, to delivery of the pledge at the end of deforestation in their chains criticized by 2030, a goal as "embarrassing," "weak".

The Company told Bbc News it was written to remind its meat suppliers to your policy to accept products increases, the surfaces on former rain forest. He says its beef suppliers in the UK, the use of soy as a Food Additive only.

A spokeswoman said: "We are aware that in Some of our beef, there are traces of soy in The Feed . We are also aware that there is no traceability program in place anywhere in The World , currently track all of the soy beans on a single farm in a single country. "

soy-based foods such as soy milk, tofu and meat-replacement products there are made from soy beans, But the companies tend to be smaller in scale and more able to keep track of your supply chain.

The Vegan Society, said: "The use of Amazon soy in the vegan food is relatively insignificant, since most of the brands source from Europe, and up to 91% of the deforestation in the rain forest directly from mass animal husbandry. Farm animals eat more soy, than if we ate it directly, and are therefore a waste of resources and damage to The Environment . "

The Brazilian government has encouraged, in view of the intense criticism for the policy, environmentalists believe, the fires.

told But Minister for The Environment , Ricardo Salles , the Victoria would be Derbyshire the program print to steer clear of Brazilian soy is counterproductive.

"We need a sustainable Economic Development . and boycotts, or behaviors such as this will only make things worse," he said.

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amazon rainforest, brazil, amazon fires, greenpeace, fast food, trade

Source of news: bbc.com