{"id":10067,"date":"2024-09-06T15:32:13","date_gmt":"2024-09-06T15:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/osapiens.com\/?p=10067"},"modified":"2024-12-03T10:40:13","modified_gmt":"2024-12-03T10:40:13","slug":"eudr-and-soy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osapiens.com\/blog\/eudr-and-soy\/","title":{"rendered":"Soy on the Road to Europe: EUDR Challenges and Opportunities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Soy is a widely used commodity in global agriculture, primarily for the production of animal feed and food. Global demand for soy continues to grow, leading to a massive expansion of soybean acreage. This has serious environmental consequences, particularly in South America, where soy is grown on more than 55 million hectares: large areas of valuable rainforest are cleared to make way for soy plantations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As one of the largest consumers of soy, the European Union contributes to global deforestation. To curb this destructive trend, the EU has adopted the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). This regulation requires companies importing soy into the EU to demonstrate that their products do not contribute to deforestation. This poses significant challenges for the soy industry, particularly in terms of improving the traceability and sustainability of supply chains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In recent decades, soy has emerged as one of the world’s most important agricultural products. About 76% of the global soy production is used as animal feed for livestock, while only a much smaller proportion is used to make plant-based foods and beverages such as tofu or soy milk. Soy is also used to produce soybean oil, which is employed in both the food industry and the production of biodiesel.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cultivation of soy is heavily concentrated in a few countries, with the largest producers being Brazil, the United States and Argentina. Brazil, which produces more than 120 million tonnes of soy per year, is the largest exporter. However, this dominance of the global market poses significant environmental and social challenges. In fact, according to the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), less than 3% of soybeans are produced in compliance with sustainability standards. In these countries, the extensive soy cultivation is leading to large-scale deforestation, particularly in the tropical rainforests of the Amazon (South America) and the savannahs of the Cerrado (Brazil). These areas are among the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world, and their destruction is having a devastating impact on biodiversity.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to deforestation, soy cultivation exacerbates several other environmental problems. Monocultures grown on vast tracts of land lead to soil degradation and increase erosion. In addition, the intensive cultivation of soy requires the use of large amounts of pesticides and fertilizers, which can affect water quality and the health of local populations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to the environmental impacts, there are also significant social consequences. In many growing regions, indigenous communities and small farmers are forced off their land to make way for large-scale soybean plantations. This leads not only to the loss of traditional livelihoods, but also to social tensions and conflicts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The downside of success: the environmental impact of soy cultivation<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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