These products are made from European chickens raised on animal feed that contains soy exported to the EU by Bunge and Cargill, two of the world’s largest soy traders. Earthsight’s investigation found the two agri-trading giants are in turn sourcing tainted soy from firms in Brazil clearing precious natural landscapes in the Cerrado, a critical carbon sink and biodiversity hotspot, breaking laws and harming local people in the process.

The investigation underlines the failure of companies to clean up their supply chains voluntarily, and the need for legislation in consumer countries to force them to. Two of the Brazilian soy producers we exposed are certified by the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS), which is supposed to ensure their practices are ethical and sustainable. In response to Earthsight’s findings, RTRS has suspended the certificates for both producers.

The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), set to come into effect in December 2024, is intended to end European complicity in forest destruction and illegalities overseas. This case study lays bare why policymakers must resist intensified industry lobbying to delay and weaken the law.

The report also shows why authorities enforcing the EUDR must take the right approach if the law is to be effective, and why the regulation should be expanded to cover a wider range of natural landscapes beyond forests.