UK soy giants demand urgent action

A coalition of over 50 leading UK food businesses has issued an urgent plea for dialogue following the collapse of one of the world’s most successful environmental agreements.

Representing more than 60% of the UK’s soy demand, signatories of the UK Soy Manifesto are calling for immediate action after global traders and the representative body ABIOVE announced their withdrawal from the Amazon Soy Moratorium (ASM).

The exit of these major shippers has sent shockwaves through the food and beverage trade, threatening to dismantle a voluntary industry framework that has protected the Amazon Biome for nearly two decades.

Since its inception in 2006, the Moratorium has been hailed as an iconic achievement in corporate responsibility. By redirecting soy expansion onto already converted land, the agreement is estimated to have saved 1.8 million hectares of forest — an area roughly the size of Wales — while simultaneously allowing Brazilian soy cultivation to grow fourfold.

For the UK market, the ASM served as a transparent and credible “gold standard” for responsible sourcing. Its dissolution creates a vacuum of trust for UK retailers, manufacturers, and livestock producers who rely on deforestation-free soy to meet their own ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) commitments.

The withdrawal comes amid mounting geopolitical and legal pressures within Brazil:

• Anti-trust investigations: the Brazilian competition authority (CADE) is currently investigating whether the Moratorium violates anti-trust regulations.
• Legislative blows: in the state of Mato Grosso, new legislation effective January 1, 2026, has stripped tax subsidies from companies participating in voluntary environmental agreements that exceed national laws.
• Climate risks: extreme weather and reduced rainfall are already impacting the Amazon and Cerrado biomes, threatening the long-term viability of the very crops these traders export.

In the absence of a collective industry agreement, the UK Soy Manifesto is urging global shippers to maintain the 2008 cut-off date for deforestation on an individual company basis. The group is also calling on governments, financial institutions, and buyers to enter a “constructive dialogue” to ensure Brazil’s hard-won reputation as a sustainable exporter is not permanently tarnished.

“The UK Soy Manifesto is ready to support this dialogue and to work collaboratively towards a solution that both protects forests and supports future soy production in Brazil,” said Jonathan Gorman, secretariat of the UK Soy Manifesto.

While less than 10% of UK soy imports are sourced directly from the Amazon biome, soy remains a critical “hidden” ingredient across the entire UK food chain. It is a primary protein source in feed for chicken, pork, beef, dairy, and prawns.

Without a credible framework like the Moratorium, UK food businesses face increased difficulty in verifying the sustainability of their livestock supply chains, potentially exposing them to reputational risk and future regulatory hurdles in Europe and beyond.

Trade leaders warn that the security and resilience of these supply chains are increasingly fragile. While UK actors continue to support alternative initiatives like the Responsible Commodities Facility and the Sustainable Landscapes Partnership, the loss of the Moratorium represents a significant step backward for international food security and global climate targets.