Brazil’s Deforestation Commitments Face Scrutiny as Amazon Soy Moratorium Weakens

New analysis reveals significant gaps between stated commitments to deforestation-free supply chains and actual progress made by major Brazilian meat, soy, and retail companies. As the Amazon Soy Moratorium (ASM) faces challenges, the need for robust Deforestation and Conversion-Free (DCF) policies becomes increasingly critical to prevent further destruction of the Amazon rainforest.

Uneven Progress Among Key Companies

A recent report by Mighty Earth and the Instituto Brasileiro de Defesa do Consumidor (IDEC) assessed fourteen companies, scoring them out of 150 based on their DCF policies and implementation. The findings highlight a wide disparity in performance.

Marfrig emerged as the leading beef company with a score of 137, demonstrating the most robust policies and practices to address deforestation. Carrefour led among retailers with a score of 124, showcasing ambitious commitments aligned with sector standards. Amaggi was the top-performing soy trader, achieving a score of 98.

Conversely, JBS received the lowest score among beef companies (51), while ALZ and Grupo Mateus were the lowest-scoring soy trader and retailer, respectively, with scores of 17 and 0. Cargill, the world’s largest soy trader, received a score of 63, reflecting a rollback of its commitments through weakened deforestation cut-off dates.

Key Findings of the Analysis

• Weak and Unclear Commitments: Many companies lack clear and comprehensive public DCF commitments.
• Traceability Challenges: Ensuring full traceability, particularly for indirect suppliers, remains a significant hurdle.
• Limited Transparency: Collective and individual transparency is lacking, hindering accountability.
• Focus on Illegal Deforestation: It’s unclear whether some companies are committed to eliminating all deforestation and conversion, or only illegal deforestation.
• Retailer Gap: Retailers generally do not include policies for the soy sector.

The Amazon Soy Moratorium at a Crossroads

The analysis underscores the importance of maintaining the Amazon Soy Moratorium (ASM) as key traders have begun to abandon the pact, effective December 29, 2025 [Reuters]. Critics argue the moratorium restricts the market and harms farmers, but its weakening could lead to a potential 30% increase in deforestation by 2045 [Reuters]. The ASM provides a proven legality monitoring system, effectively targeting illegal deforestation by identifying farms lacking proper permits.

Calls for Action

Mighty Earth and IDEC are calling for:

• Expansion of DCF commitments to all ecosystems, using a 2020 cut-off date for all biomes except the Amazon.
• Maintenance and strengthening of the ASM’s sectoral approach, including the 2008 cut-off date, farm-level traceability, and a commitment to zero legal and illegal deforestation in the Amazon.
• Implementation of full traceability across all suppliers, including indirect suppliers, to eliminate blind spots.
• Strengthened transparency and accountability through public alert and grievance mechanisms, accessible reporting, and independent verification.

The Role of Regulation

The organizations emphasize that voluntary commitments alone are insufficient to address the urgency of ending deforestation. Binding regulations, such as the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), are essential to ensure zero deforestation becomes a legal requirement.

“Retailers and food companies have a crucial role to play and must leverage their market power to cut ties with those that have abandoned the ASM or do not comply with the mechanism’s criteria,” said Mariana Gameiro, Senior Advisor for Brazil at Mighty Earth.

Samanta Fabbris, an analyst with Idec’s Healthy and Sustainable Food programme in Brazil, added, “Without control of the entire production chain, especially indirect suppliers, the market cannot differentiate between effective commitments and formal statements… The commitment to zero deforestation is urgent; it is a matter of food security and planetary responsibility.”

Why DCF Targets Matter

Food production and consumption in Brazil are responsible for 74% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, with agriculture and livestock production driving over 97% of native vegetation loss in the past six years. Despite an overall decline in deforestation rates in the Legal Amazon in preliminary 2025 figures, hotspots remain, such as Mato Grosso state, which saw a deforestation rate increase of over 25% in 2025 compared to 2024.

With 2025 marking a missed target year to end deforestation in meat and soy supply chains, the need for immediate and decisive action is paramount.