Preventing the harms associated with pesticides sprayed on industrial chicken feed - Soil Association
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ST P
POISON POULTRY
Preventing the harms
associated with
pesticides sprayed on
industrial chicken feed
2 Stop Poison Poultry Report Contents 1. Summary .........................................................................................................................................................................4 Poison Poultry......................................................................................................................................................................6 Chicken feed.........................................................................................................................................................................7 Brazilian soya........................................................................................................................................................................7 Pesticides in Brazil..............................................................................................................................................................7 Human health......................................................................................................................................................................8 Turning a blind eye .........................................................................................................................................................8 Solutions...............................................................................................................................................................................10 2. Analysis & Evidence................................................................................................................................................12 UK soya consumption....................................................................................................................................................13 Soya farming in Brazil....................................................................................................................................................13 Pesticide use in Brazil.....................................................................................................................................................14 The local context...............................................................................................................................................................15 Ecosystems at risk.............................................................................................................................................................16 Impacts on wildlife..........................................................................................................................................................20 Impacts on bees................................................................................................................................................................22 Impacts on human health............................................................................................................................................23 3. Solutions.......................................................................................................................................................................24 Confronting the challenge...........................................................................................................................................25 Beyond deforestation......................................................................................................................................................26 Solutions: UK Government..........................................................................................................................................28 Solutions: Industry collaboration..............................................................................................................................29 Solutions: Retailers...........................................................................................................................................................31 Appendix 1: Pesticides used on soya crops in Brazil......................................................................................32 Appendix 2: Current retailer policies on pesticides in soya supply chains..........................................34 Appendix 3: Retailer action plans and policies, and the role of certification and assurance.......35 References.........................................................................................................................................................................40
4 Stop Poison Poultry Report Stop Poison Poultry Report 5 1 Summary Bees, fish, frogs, macaws, raptors, owls, tapirs, and bats are among the wild animals in the Americas being poisoned by pesticides for the sake of cheap industrial chicken feed. The health of farmers, farm workers, and local communities is also at risk. This feed is imported into Britain in huge volumes to be fed to animals housed in intensive units, primarily poultry. Walk into any supermarket in the UK and you will find chicken products complicit in these pesticide-related harms. These harms are not the fault of British farmers or retailers, and there are no easy solutions, but the evidence is clear and highly concerning. Our chicken supply chains need to be scrubbed clean. The poisoning must be stopped. See parts 2 and 3 for references
6 Stop Poison Poultry Report Stop Poison Poultry Report 7
Poison Poultry Chicken feed Pesticides in Brazil
Picture the scene. Honeybees are dying by with pesticides laced throughout their paw pads, We eat a lot of soya. The average person in Britain Escalating pesticide use has been linked to the
the billion. Wild bee colonies are at risk of proboscis, stomach lining, liver, blood, bones, consumes around 60 kg each year, though we are genetic modification of soybeans. Around 90%
collapse. Bugs and butterflies are vanishing from and nails. rarely aware of this consumption. Only a fraction of the soya grown in Brazil has been genetically
agricultural areas and their surrounds, and the is eaten directly as ‘soy milk’ or tofu. Most is modified to be ‘Roundup Ready’, resistant to
creatures that feed on them, such as bats and These pesticide-fuelled harms might seem consumed within animal products – ‘embedded’ in herbicide glyphosate. Although GM has been touted
birds, are found dead, a cocktail of chemicals a world away from British dinner plates, but meat and dairy, most commonly within chicken. as a way to improve the environmental performance
laced throughout their bodies. the average British chicken is complicit in this of farming, its application in Brazil has enabled or
poisoning. The pesticides applied to soya crops in Chicken is the nation’s favourite meat, accounting encouraged repeated glyphosate application leading
A soup of agrochemical run-off is flooding into Brazil are partly our responsibility, for this soya is for almost half of all meat eaten. Consumption to the growth of resistant weeds, prompting farmers
wetlands, leaching into soils and rivers upstream traded internationally and imported into Britain to has risen steadily in recent years, and it continues to use additional herbicides, along with a cocktail of
and flowing down in a noxious brew that be fed to our livestock, primarily chickens housed to rise year-on-year. insecticides and fungicides.
infiltrates the aquatic ecosystem. Amphibians in intensive systems.
choke on blooms of polluted algae. Frogs face This rising demand has been met through the
While organic chickens are produced to strict intensification of farming, predicated on the Many of the pesticides applied to
chemical castration. Fish float to the surface,
bloated and discoloured. standards which prohibit the use of harmful mass production of fast-growing birds, housed soya in Brazil would be illegal to use
pesticides, this is not the case for most chickens in large flocks, fed a high protein diet. Soya is an in the UK or Europe, because of their
In recent years, scientists in Brazil have begun to in the UK. Each time we eat a supermarket integral component of this diet, providing the
‘highly hazardous’ classification.*
report such scenes, describing a disturbing body chicken curry, a roast chicken, or a box of chicken amino acids required for rapid and corpulent
of evidence. They speak of brightly coloured birds nuggets, we consequently risk contributing growth. Intensive chicken farming, with today’s These include known or suspected carcinogens
– macaws and tropical raptors – whose flesh is to environmental degradation and the loss of fast-growing breeds, simply wouldn’t be viable and several chemicals understood to either harm
flushed with toxins. They tell of tapirs – pig-like precious wildlife. without the crop. the human endocrine system or pose risks to
creatures with prehensile nose-trunks – found reproductive and developmental health. Some
We consequently import huge volumes of soya
each year, roughly 3 million tonnes per annum. products are known to be hazardous to bees,
Most of this soya comes from the Americas. In the other pollinators, and wildlife more broadly.
case of poultry feed, Brazil is the primary source. Notwithstanding their lack of legal status, some
of these chemicals are manufactured in the UK
Brazilian soya or Europe and are exported to Brazil. At least four
major pesticide manufacturers – US-based FMC
In recent decades Brazil has become a global Corp., Denmark’s Cheminova A/S, Helm AG of
epicentre of soya production, responding to Germany, and Swiss agribusiness giant Syngenta
escalating global demand, fuelled by rising demand AG, which also operates out of Britain – have
for grain-fed meat, principally pork and poultry. been selling products to Brazil that are no longer
Scientists in Brazilian soya farming has expanded in response, allowed in their domestic markets.
Brazil are reporting and has encroached into ecologically vulnerable Brazil has long been a leading pesticide user, but
areas, contributing to deforestation and wildlife the country’s consumption of toxic pesticides
pesticide residues loss. Agrochemical use has also risen. Brazilian has increased sharply in recent years as President
within the bodies soya production has increased almost sixfold, and Bolsonaro has adopted a reckless approach to
pesticide use by 900%, since 1990, positioning
of wild animals Brazil as one of the top three leading users of
controls and regulation. His government has
actively sought to weaken controls, and this
pesticides in the world. has allowed a torrent of new products onto the
The consequences for human and environmental market. Of the 96 active ingredients contained in
health have been dire, as scientists are now pesticides released in 2020, one in three are not
beginning to understand. Wild animals, farmers and permitted for use in the UK or EU.
communities are being poisoned by a cocktail of There have been both winners and losers. The
highly hazardous chemicals. Precious ecosystems agrochemical industry has benefitted handsomely,
and individual lives are being irreversibly damaged. as have soya trading corporations, while wild
Despite this evidence of harm, British supply chains animals, farm workers and their communities are
photo: Macaw parrots and policy makers have been slow to respond. paying the highest cost.
* There are several international frameworks for pesticide classification. The most comprehensive compilation of highly
hazardous pesticides is provided by PAN: https://www.pan-uk.org/site/wp-content/uploads/PAN-HHP-List-2021.pdf
8 Stop Poison Poultry Report Stop Poison Poultry Report 9
The average British
chicken casts a toxic
shadow. The UK
Government and
British retailers
must respond.
Human health Turning a blind eye
In January 2022, the Soil Association surveyed the UK’s 10 leading
It is estimated that each Brazilian citizen In recent years, the UK Government and actors
consumes an average of seven litres of pesticides across the supply chain have taken concerted supermarkets – Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, Marks and Spencer,
per year, contributing to 70,000 acute and action to begin to address deforestation and land Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose – asking about their policies and
chronic poisonings annually, according to data conversion associated with Brazilian soya. The approach to pesticides used on soya crops. The results were disappointing
prepared by the Brazilian Association of Public UK Government has acted at international and
Health (ABRASCO). Children are among the most national levels, and supply chain stakeholders (See Appendix 2 for further discussion.)
severely affected. have been convened in fora such as the UK
• N
one of the 10 leading UK supermarkets said they modified soya in its supply chain, including
Roundtable for Sustainable Soya and the UK
The health consequences have been the focus were monitoring or restricting the use of highly through the sourcing of organic feed and
Soy Manifesto.
of a growing body of research in recent years. In hazardous pesticides in their soya supply chain. supporting alternative feed projects and trials.
2015, the Brazilian Ministry of Health warned that This work is tremendously important. But
• Asda and Iceland declined to tell us whether • Some retailers, such as Tesco, Co-op and Lidl,
pesticides were linked to an increased risk and pesticides have been mostly neglected.
they had taken, or would take, any steps to purchase ‘credits’ to hypothetically cover their
prevalence of chronic diseases in the country,
This neglect starts at the top. The UK reduce the use of possible endocrine disruptors soya footprint, though these do not guarantee
placing Brazilian children and adults at increased
Government is permitting agrochemical and carcinogens in their soya supply chain. that the soya in their supply chain is free from
risk of infertility, impotence, miscarriages,
manufacturers operating in Britain to export highly hazardous pesticides.
malformations, neurotoxicity, hormonal • When we asked Asda and Iceland whether they
deregulation, disruption to the immune system highly hazardous pesticides, which would be
recognised that pesticides applied to soya crops This inaction is understandable, to a degree.
and central nervous system, and cancer. illegal to use here, to countries with looser
posed a threat to human health and human Soya supply chains are opaque and consolidated,
regulation and controls, despite clear evidence
rights in some contexts, including in Brazil, and exercising influence is a challenge. Retailers
The Ministry warned that long-term exposure of harm. Among these exports is Paraquat,
where children and families are being poisoned, and other supply chain actors have been focussed
to “usually low doses” of multiple pesticides in manufactured by Syngenta in Huddersfield and
they declined to respond. on addressing the pressing issue of deforestation.
food and the environment “may affect the whole exported to countries in the Americas such as
The harms associated with pesticides in Brazil are
population … and may lead to chronic health Brazil, where it has been associated with a wave • Aldi, Co-op, Lidl, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, not principally the responsibility of British farmers
effects”. Farmers and their families, and traditional of poisonings and farmer suicides. These exports Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose were unable to or retailers.
and indigenous communities living in proximity are unethical and dangerous and should be tell us how many pesticides known to be ‘toxic
to soya farms, are understood to be of most prohibited by government. to bees’ were used in their soya supply chain, But the evidence of harm is now overwhelming.
immediate concern. and not one of the retailers had introduced The average British chicken casts a toxic shadow.
British retailers have also, while taking strides to
robust restrictions on use. And there are solutions which must now be
address deforestation, failed to take concerted
enacted. The UK Government and British retailers
action to address the use of highly harmful • Waitrose was the only retailer to have measures must respond.
pesticides in their animal feed soya supply chain. in place to reduce the proportion of genetically
10 Stop Poison Poultry Report Stop Poison Poultry Report 11
Solutions
The UK Government has a critically Retailers are the primary interface This plan might include the following:
important role to play in addressing between British citizens and
the pesticide-related harms chicken products complicit in
discussed above. As a minimum, the the pesticide-related harms
UK Government should – described in this report – the
‘poison poultry’ which makes up
• Prohibit companies operating in the UK from
selling highly hazardous pesticides abroad. so much of our national diet. The
Agrochemical companies operating in the UK British public expect foods on
exported pesticides containing 12,240 tonnes • Action to enhance monitoring and reporting, • Collective action as a retail sector to
supermarket shelves, especially aiming to establish more clearly in relation tighten and strengthen required
of seven different chemicals banned in the UK
in 2020. This is unethical and dangerous, and
own-brand products, to be free to volumes of soya in the supply chain, the standards on pesticide use in soya
should not be allowed. from significant environmental locations of origin, and details where possible certification and benchmarking.
or social harms. Most chicken on farm-level methods of production and
• Ensure that the due diligence requirements of agrochemical use.
the 2021 Environment Act are applied to soya. products are not free from such
The Act aims to address illegal deforestation in UK harms. An onus of responsibility
supply chains. Soya should be of primary concern, therefore falls on the retailers to
with actors across the supply chain supported to
enhance transparency and reporting, building the
address this issue.
integrity and visibility of the soya supply chain. Retailers cannot, of course, do it alone. Action
• Commit to a pesticide reduction target as part is needed along the UK supply chain – by
of the Paris-style agreement for nature that will traders, feed manufacturers, and poultry
be signed at COP 15 in Kunming, China, later this processors – and by policy makers in national • Increased percentage share of organic
government. But there is a key role for • Action to achieve year-on-year increases in the
year. The Summit will introduce targets across a percentage of certified soya in the retailer’s poultry and animal produce.
range of environmental outcomes, among them retailers, both in setting an ambitious aim and
in building momentum towards delivery. poultry supply chains, including via uptake of In addition, the action plan should include
a two-thirds percentage reduction target for certification schemes which address pesticide use
pesticide use. a commitment and actions to scale up
To this end, we are asking that the retailers and are predicated on physical certification. alternative feeds, with the ambition of reducing
• Introduce, as recommended by PAN UK and develop and commit to a time-bound the soya component of chicken feed from 20% to
Sustain in their recent ‘Toxic Trade’ report, plan to address the harms associated with 10% by 2030, with UK (or European) protein crops
‘maximum residue levels’ (MRLs) for all highly hazardous pesticides in their soya used instead.
produce used for animal feed, including soya supply chain, starting with poultry. This
sourced from Brazil. plan should build on, and harmonise with, See Part 3 for further detail and discussion
existing commitments and plans related to of solutions.
• Aim for UK consumption and production of deforestation and land conversion. The plan
poultry to ‘peak’ within 12 months and decline should be drafted within 12 months and must
thereafter, including by phasing out intensive include a commitment to achieving a poultry Supermarkets must
poultry from the menus of public setting canteens, supply chain free from highly hazardous • Action towards full chain of custody oversight commit to a poultry
placing a moratorium on the construction of pesticides by 2030. for soya sourced as poultry feed, implementing supply chain free from
new intensive poultry units, and implementing the FEMAS chain of custody certification or
the National Food Strategy recommendation for the FEFAC guidelines, working with poultry highly hazardous
mandatory reporting on protein sales and method processors and down the supply chain. pesticides by 2030.
of production in retail and other settings.
12 Stop Poison Poultry Report Stop Poison Poultry Report 13
75% of UK soya
consumption is
within animal
feed
UK soya consumption (often having been crushed to form meal) and as
oil. Soybean oil is the second largest source of
Efeca, which convenes the UK Roundtable on vegetable oil globally and is also used in products
Sustainable Soya, an umbrella group of companies such as biodiesel and detergents.
and organisations that want to source soya
sustainably, reports that the UK imported 3.5 Soya production in Brazil has expanded
million tonnes of soya in 2019, the latest year for significantly since the 1970s in response to growing
which data is available. When combined with soya global demand, fuelled by demand for animal
imported into the UK ‘embedded’ in food products, products. This growing demand is associated
such as imported meat and dairy, the UK’s total with demographic shifts and increased spending
consumption amounted to around 4.2 million power in ‘developing’ economies, coupled with
tonnes. Most of the UK’s soya consumption, at ongoing high levels of demand for soya-fed meat
least 75%, is within animal feed. (mostly pork and poultry) and dairy in more affluent
nations. While the animal feed and soybean oil
Argentina is the UK’s most significant sourcing markets are co-dependent, demand for animal
partner, representing nearly half of all soya imports. products has been the primary driver of market
These imports are typically traded as soya meal as growth and Brazilian soya expansion.2
opposed to whole beans and sold into the animal
feed sector as ‘soya of any origin’, suitable for pigs Soya now occupies an area of approximately 35
and other livestock where the source of the soya million hectares in Brazil, a third of the total area
is not critical for nutritional reasons. This is closely of soya cultivated globally.³ While production
followed by Brazil, which is where the majority in Brazil has been expanding for decades –
of the UK’s ‘high protein’ soya is sourced. This increasing almost ninefold over the past 30 years,
soya is more likely to feed into the poultry sector, from 566 million bushels for the 1990/91 crop to
which requires soya with a high protein content to 4,965 million bushels for 2020/21 – this growth
produce large birds in small timescales. has accelerated in the past decade.4
Of the 1,937,500 tonnes of soya incorporated into Brazil’s explosive growth in soya output has been
animal feed in Britain in 2019, 1,113,800 tonnes was driven by increases in both planted area and yield.
fed to broiler chickens, roughly 57% of the total.1 Between 1990/91 and 2020/21, the land-area
2
under soya cultivation increased from 24 million
Analysis &
acres to 95 million acres (35 million hectares), an
Soya farming in Brazil increase of 291%. Over the same period, average
Soybeans are prized for their versatility and traded yields increased 121%, from 23.5 bushels per acre to
Evidence
globally. Only a fraction of this trade is in whole 52.0 bushels. This yield growth has been facilitated
beans which are consumed directly or as a food by investments in technology and the use of
ingredient. Most soya is traded as animal feed agrochemicals, such as fertilisers and pesticides.5
photo left: soy bean plantation
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Map of Brazil showing states with the highest volumes of soya production
Pesticide use in Brazil Roraima
Amapá
Soya farming is the primary driver of pesticide cohort were numerous products containing
use in Brazil. Though it represents only 42% of ingredients believed to be hazardous to humans
arable farmland in the country, soya accounts for and wildlife. Many of these products are not
Amazonas Ceará
more than 60% of agrochemical use. A cocktail permitted for use in the UK, US, or Europe. (See Pará Maranhão Rio Grande
do Norte
of more than 450 chemicals is applied to soya, Appendix 1 for details.)8 Paraíba
and many of these pesticides are toxic to humans Piauí Pernambuco
or harmful to nature, according to the Brazilian Within the 2019 cohort were florpirauxifene-
Acre Alagoas
National Health Agency and the Ministry of benzyl, fluopiram and dinotefuran, the latter Tocantins
being a neonicotinoid insecticide, prohibited in Sergipe
the Environment.6 Rondônia Bahia
Europe and under re-evaluation in the US, due Mato Grosso
Pesticide use has been either tacitly or explicitly to the risk it poses to bees and other pollinators.
26.5%
Distrito
encouraged by the Brazilian government through Six products contained the active ingredient Goiás Federal
a policy of tax exemption for producers of sulfoxaflor, a new sulfoximine class insecticide,
commodities. Intensification is the name of the of all soya
which has been associated with increases in bee Minas Gerais
game. Small farmers and producers have been grown in Brazil Mato Grosso
Espīrito Santo
mortality. The active ingredient imidacloprid, du Sul
São Paulo
prompted to use agrochemicals to boost their found in 37 new products, is a neonicotinoid
Rio de Janeiro
yield and output, as agroecological production compound, which, along with thiacloprid and
is not considered competitive enough to receive
government support.7
clothianidin, has been associated with sublethal
and lethal effects on bees.9
15.3% Paraná
of all soya Santa Catarina
The Bolsonaro government has entrenched this And there is likely to be more to come. In grown in Brazil
Rio Grande
support for intensive production by allowing February 2022, it was reported that Brazil’s do Sul
a glut of new and harmful chemicals onto the lower house had approved a new bill seeking to 15%
market. In 2019, in the first year of Bolsonaro’s further loosen controls on pesticide approvals. of all soya
presidency, 474 new pesticides were licensed for The proposal has been dubbed the ‘Poison grown in Brazil
use, of which 110 were classified as ‘extremely Bill’ by critics who say it paves the way for
toxic’, 52 as ‘highly toxic’ and 170 as ‘moderately more dangerous pesticides to be used, further
toxic’. In 2020, this rose to 493, and in this new entrenching soya productions in harms to
humans and wildlife.10 The local context In the states with the highest levels of use – Mato
Grosso, Rondônia, Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio
Soya production is concentrated across several Grande do Sul – there are some restrictions on
states. In 2020/21, Mato Grosso, in the Midwest how and where pesticides may be used, though
500 region, had the greatest land-area under soya, monitoring is often lax and restrictions partial.
Number of pesticides released in In Rio Grande do Sul, there are additional laws
accounting for 26.5% of all soya grown in
Brazil from 2005 to 2020 Brazil. The second and third states were the related to awareness of pesticide risks, which
400 two southern states, Paraná with 15.3% and Rio include the requirement that schools teach about
Soya accounts Grande do Sul with 15.0%.11 In the Cerrado region, ecology and pesticides, and the stipulation that
for more than Matopiba is at the forefront of soya cultivation, organic food should be served in school canteens.
60%
300 the soybean area increasing by 253% between
2000 and 2014.12 The divergences in regulation at a national
and regional level, and the lack of robust
200 Some controls and regulations related monitoring or enforcement, attest to the fact that
of agrochemical to pesticides are devolved to regional pesticides are politically controversial in Brazil.
use administrations. In some states (such as Distrito Agrobusinesses and agrochemical companies
100 Federal, Alagoas, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Ceará) have actively lobbied for deregulation, while
and municipalities within states (such as Minas scientists, NGOs, and public health experts in
Gerais, Acre, and Espírito Santo), there are bans government have raised concerns. The Bolsonaro
on the use of aerial spraying and prohibitions on government has sided with agrobusinesses,
use in proximity to inhabited areas. at escalating cost to the natural environment,
2008
2006
2009
2020
2005
2007
2010
2018
2016
2019
2014
2012
2013
2015
2017
2011
wildlife, and human health.13
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Ecosystems at risk
The natural environment in Brazil is a rich tapestry of rainforest,
grasslands, savanna, wetlands, coastal biomes, agricultural lands, and urban
development. It is home to the greatest diversity of animal and plant life of
any country. In relation to pesticide pollution and poisoning, it has more
to lose than most, and there is evidence of pesticide-related harms being
channelled through the air, water, and soil.
Air pollution
When sprayed on crops, some chemicals within pesticides evaporate or are
released into the air, where they are carried on the wind into the surrounding
environment. The diffusion of hazardous chemicals can contaminate ecosystems,
either proximate or distant from agricultural areas, and generate airborne pollution
that harms the respiratory system of humans and animals.
Scientists have
discovered that
Water pollution waterways feeding
Pesticides may enter surface and ground water through spray drift or runoff into the Pantanal are
from plants and soil, infiltrating aquatic ecosystems. Drinking water can be
contaminated, posing a threat to human health, while fish and other aquatic contaminated with
organisms may be threatened by chemical poisoning. It’s estimated that a soup of
freshwater bodies in 80% of Brazilian states are contaminated with herbicides.14
toxic pesticides
Soil pollution
It’s common for pesticides to leach into soils, where they can harm
microorganisms such as bacteria, earthworms, fungi, insects, and other photo: Pantanal
microbes. The effects can be detrimental for both plant growth and soil fertility,
undermining the productivity and resilience of agricultural and wild ecosystems. The Pantanal
These chemicals also leach from soils into streams and the atmosphere and are be the result of soya production upstream. The
The Pantanal is one of the world’s largest
eaten as residues in foods. wetland has, in effect, become an enormous
freshwater floodplains. It supports a diverse
The unique and precious diversity of plant and animal life in Brazil makes and unique assemblage of flora and fauna depository for agrochemical residues washing
it difficult (or impossible) to provide a comprehensive summary of at-risk and provides important regional and global down from the northern plains of Mato Grosso,
ecosystems. But among the most important and endangered are the Pantanal, ecosystem services.15 The Pantanal itself is an epicentre of soya farming. As cultivation has
Amazon, and Cerrado. relatively untouched by agriculture, with only expanded, soya fields have edged closer to the
0.01% of its area occupied by soya. Scientists have springs that feed the Pantanal, and the poison has
nevertheless discovered that waterways feeding been flushed downstream. Unless action is taken
into the Pantanal are contaminated with a soup to curtail pesticide use in Mato Grasso in the next
of toxic pesticides, with potentially devastating few years, the consequences for the Pantanal
consequences for aquatic organisms, and could be severe.16
evidence that some species of fish are growing
scarce in certain locations. This is understood to
18 Stop Poison Poultry Report Stop Poison Poultry Report 19
The Amazon
The Amazon is the world’s largest tropical rainforest and has endured decades of deforestation and
land conversion for cattle ranching and soya cultivation. Pesticide use in the region has risen in turn,
with concerning consequences for sensitive, vulnerable, and endemic species in the biome. Several
studies have discovered agrochemical contamination in tributaries of the Amazon River, threatening
both human populations and aquatic life. Scientists are concerned that pesticides applied to soya in
the region have contaminated lakes and lagoons, poisoning fish in rivers’ floodplains, causing harms to
human and ecosystem health which are only now beginning to be understood. In some areas, residents
are regularly consuming water, fish, fruit and vegetables contaminated by a cocktail of pesticides that
derive from soya farms. The true scale of the poisoning remains unknown.17
400
million litres of
pesticide product
applied annually in the
Cerrado region
photo: Chapada dos Guimarães, Mato Grosso, Cerrado
The Cerrado
The Cerrado is a tropical savannah biome located impacts on people’s health. The national average
to the south of the Amazon, home to a unique rate of pesticide poisoning in Brazil in 2017 was
and precious array of plants and animals. In recent 6.8 cases per 100,000, a figure that rises to 8.5 per
decades the Cerrado has been at the leading edge 100,000 in the Cerrado. There is a higher rate of
of agricultural expansion, with vast areas of native child cancer in the region compared to the rest
vegetation cleared for cattle ranching and soya. of Brazil, and environmental pesticide pollution
The Cerrado’s Matopiba region is at the forefront is placing pressure on the remaining native
of this expansion, the soybean area increasing vegetation.20 The UK imports 100,000 tonnes of
by 253% between 2000 and 2014.18 This has, in soya beans from the Cerrado every year, mostly
turn, fuelled a high level of pesticide use, with an as animal feed.
estimated 400 million litres of pesticide product
applied annually in the region.19 This increasing
toxic load has been associated with increasing20 Stop Poison Poultry Report Stop Poison Poultry Report 21
Humans reliant on
aquatic ecosystems
and consuming
freshwater fish that
have been poisoned
by pesticides are also
at risk.
photo: fish swimming in the water in Bonito,
Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
Mammals muscle contractions, and eventually, paralysis of
the body extremities and the respiratory muscles,
Analysis of tapir carcasses from the Cerrado found resulting from the interaction between these
the presence of numerous pesticides, including pesticides and the central nervous system. Humans
two carbamates (aldicarb and carbaryl), three reliant on aquatic ecosystems and consuming
organophosphates (diazinon, malathion, and freshwater fish that have been poisoned by
mevinphos), two pyrethroids (deltamethrin and pesticides are also at risk.27
photo: Phalcoboenus chimango in flight permethrin), and two toxic metals (cadmium and
lead). These were detected in roughly 40% of tissue Amphibians
Impacts on wildlife samples – on the animals’ paw pads, within the
proboscis (snout), stomach, liver, blood, bones and Amphibians can serve as bioindicators of
Wildlife is exposed to pesticides in the natural environment and in nails – some at concentrations high enough to environmental health as they are highly sensitive
contaminated food and water. This exposure can cause harm along multiple cause adverse health effects in the individual. Some to chemical pollution. Scientists studying
amphibians in Brazil have found concerning
metabolic pathways, promoting adverse behavioural changes, disrupting concentrations exceeded environmental safety
thresholds, raising concerns over potential effects evidence that amphibian alarm bells are ringing.
biological and reproductive cycles, and sometimes contributing to increased They observed malformations in three amphibious
that could lead to population level and ecosystem
mortality. Such evidence of potential harm has been found in relation to impacts.24 Concerning evidence has also been species at breeding sites in the Amazon, close
diverse species in Brazil. found of pesticide poisoning among bats, which to an area where the herbicide glyphosate had
play important ecological roles in forest and been applied. The observations echoed those
agricultural ecosystems through seed dispersal from Brazil’s Atlantic Forest where scientists have
Birds contact with their beak and skin, increasing the and insect population control. Bats are exposed to studied morphological anomalies and mortality
likelihood that toxins will enter the digestive tract pesticides through food or water contamination, in amphibians exposed to herbicides.28 Frogs
Analysis of owl carcasses collected between and bloodstream. In keeping with these findings, or through direct skin contact in their roosting are among the amphibians chiefly affected.
2018 and 2019 in southern Brazil found a 2021 study described the results of a necropsy areas, with several pesticides commonly applied The chemical atrazine, which is still legally used
evidence of the pesticides abamectin, atrazine, conducted on hyacinth macaws from the Pantanal. to soya crops understood to pose a threat to their in Brazil, is known to cause hermaphroditic
chlorpyrifos-ethyl, and diuron in their tissues. Dangerous levels of organophosphate pesticides reproductive health.25 deformities, undermining frogs’ reproductive
The scientists conducting the analysis warned were found in their tissues.22 A 2020 study also capability (in effect, causing ‘chemical castration’).
that bioaccumulation of these toxins might found organochlorine pesticides in the feathers Fish Atrazine is also toxic to some fish species and
impact the species at a population level, altering of three raptor species (Phalcoboenus chimango, indirectly affects the immune system of several
their ecological function and unbalancing the Aquatic ecosystems are at known risk from amphibian species, increasing their susceptibility
Milvago chimachima and Caracara plancus).23
encompassing ecosystem.21 Raptors (birds of prey) pesticide pollution, and the effects on aquatic to deadly diseases. Several novel weedkillers
Hundreds of rare or endangered bird species in the
seem to be especially susceptible to pesticide organisms have been amply demonstrated.26 Fish approved in recent years by the Bolsonaro
Amazon, Pantanal and Cerrado are believed to be
poisoning due their preening behaviour, which exposed to pesticides, such as methyl parathion government are known to contain atrazine, which
at risk due to pesticide poisoning.
allows chemicals on their feathers to come into organophosphate, can exhibit fatigue, involuntary has been banned in the EU since 2003.2922 Stop Poison Poultry Report Stop Poison Poultry Report 23
Impacts on bees
Some of the most concerning evidence from Brazil pertains to bees, both
managed honeybees and wild bees, which are exposed to pesticides while
searching for pollen, nectar, and water. Chemicals latent in the environment
may be ingested and absorbed during the bees’ foraging, causing toxic
effects, such as physiological damages or changes in behaviour, with
potentially far-reaching consequences for agricultural and wild ecosystems.
In recent years, as pesticide use has increased, the evidence of harm has
deepened in turn. Pesticide
use in Brazil
Managed honeybees Wild bees
contributes to
70,000
Significant declines in Brazilian bee populations, Stingless bees such as Apidae and Meliponini are
and the associated collapse in Apis mellifera the main pollinators of native plants in tropical
colonies, have been reported in recent years. It’s regions of Brazil and are commonly exposed
estimated that over a 5-year period from 2013 to pesticides when foraging on contaminated
to 2017, more than 1 billion bees were lost in flowers. In one recent study, the susceptibility of
Brazil, including honeybees and wild bees. For stingless bees to the ingestion of the most widely acute and chronic
managed honeybees, a high rate of colony losses used herbicides and insecticides in Brazil was poisonings
has been observed and reported over recurring investigated. Bees were orally exposed to food
years, these losses tending to occur during spring contaminated with the insecticide acephate or the
annually
and summer, at the peak of agricultural activity. herbicide glyphosate in concentrations permitted
Almost 50% of beekeepers believe that pesticides for use in agriculture. The results indicated that
are the main cause, and chemical analyses support these pesticides reduced the lifespan of foragers; photo: Spraying pesticide in soybean plantation
this conclusion.30 Analysis suggests the main increased mortality rates; and impaired the bees’
drivers for bee deaths relate to the exposure to flight ability. The study demonstrated that wild bees
fipronil, followed by the neonicotinoid pesticides are susceptible to commonly used pesticides, at Impacts on human health
clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam, all levels permitted in soya farming.35
A 2022 meta-analysis reviewing studies The populations most vulnerable to the spraying
used in soya cultivation.31
Several studies have shown that native bees might addressing the relationship between exposure to of pesticides – including glyphosate, applied
The losses have been regionally concentrated. In be even less tolerant to the insecticide fipronil pesticides and health problems in the Brazilian to soya crops in high volumes – are native
Rio Grande do Sul, in the south of Brazil, roughly than the managed (and non-native) honeybee. population concluded that pesticide exposure peoples and traditional communities, indigenous
7,000 beehives were lost in December 2018, and Stingless bees have been recognised as essential had caused significant harms to public health, communities, and family farmers, especially those
it has been shown that 80% of these bee deaths plant pollinators and producers of various natural regardless of age and gender, in both rural and living in proximity to soya farms.39
were caused by pesticides used in soya cultivation, products in neotropical areas. Research into the urban areas. Among the harms reported were
damage to the central nervous system, increased Irresponsible behaviour by agribusiness, exhibited
with the heaviest losses recorded in the central potential risks to bees of many pesticides remains
cancer rates, intoxications, malformations, and through a lack of regard for farm worker health
region of the state, coinciding with prairie soybean slim, but that research which has been conducted
endocrine changes.37 and welfare, has accentuated the risks to those
plantations.32 Between 2014 and 2017, some 200 provides grounds for concern.36
involved in soya cultivation. In one recent survey,
occurrences of ‘mass beehive loss’ were reported
It is estimated that each Brazilian consumes 80% of Brazilian pesticide applicators said they
in the state, and in 70% of the cases fipronil was
an average of seven litres of pesticides per were unaware of the requirement to use Personal
the main pesticide detected.33 Similar evidence has
year, contributing to 70,000 acute and chronic Protective Equipment (PPE), and 92% reported not
emerged from other regions. In 2020 in only four
poisonings annually, according to data prepared using any PPE, either in the mixture’s preparation
Brazilian states, more than five hundred million
by the Brazilian Association of Public Health or in the application of pesticides.40
bees were found dead. The main cause for this
(ABRASCO). The Brazilian Ministry of Health warns
mortality was the use of neonicotinoid and
that, for each notified pesticide poisoning event,
fipronil pesticides, used in soya farming.34
there are another 50 not reported. It is known
that children are the most at risk and affected by
accidental pesticide poisoning.3824 Stop Poison Poultry Report Stop Poison Poultry Report 25
Confronting the challenge they are difficult to influence.41 Cargill, a global
food corporation and the largest privately held
The average British chicken dinner is complicit corporation in the US, is responsible for an
in a litany of harms related to the use of highly estimated 70% of UK imports of Brazilian soya.42
hazardous pesticides in soya cultivation in Brazil.
There are compelling reasons for actors along Defining ‘sustainable’ soya
the poultry supply chain – soya traders, feed There is no consensus on the definition of
manufacturers, poultry processors, and retailers – ‘sustainable’ in relation to soya. Over fifty different
to take action to alleviate and avoid these harms, frameworks worldwide have been developed to
alongside action from UK policy makers at a govern the production and trade of soya, and
national level. within these frameworks pesticides are addressed
The Soil Association is campaigning to ‘Stop Poison to differing degrees and in varying ways. The UK
Poultry’, calling for action by British businesses and Roundtable on Sustainable Soya has led efforts
government to prevent the harms associated with to develop measurable indicators for sustainable
soya cultivation in Brazil. sourcing but has focussed on ensuring legality
and the protection of forests and valuable native
This action should be double-pronged and should vegetation – pesticides have not been a focus.
include steps to both
Limits of certification
• ‘clean’ UK supply chains, ensuring that soya
associated with highly hazardous pesticides is Several third party and corporate certification
not fed to British livestock, and UK reliance on schemes have been developed, and some of
unsustainable feed is eased; and these nominally address pesticide use, though
not in a consistent or robust manner. Certification
• t ransform production practices on the ground, also has limited reach, with the chain of custody
using UK buying power and influence to support (the paper trail that tracks the movement of
a transition to more nature-friendly production. materials) typically ‘breaking down’ after import.
While physically segregated supply chains have
Neither of these is straightforward. Indeed, both
been developed for non-GM soya, segregation
are hugely challenging, for several reasons:
does not exist for certified soya beyond the sale
to the feed manufacturer.43
Supply chain opacity
In addition, only 2% of soya grown globally is
International soya supply chains are opaque, certified, and most UK purchases are ‘book and
limiting the ability of British businesses to trace claim’ credits, which support more sustainable
soya back to its ultimate source or understand how production but provide no guarantee that the
it was produced. While progress has been made volumes of soya used by the buyers are free of
in recent years in measuring and monitoring the environmental risks. While there is an increasing
volume of ‘deforestation free’ soya purchased and take up of more physical models of certification,
consumed in the UK, tracing soya back to the farm it will be challenging to drive a transformation in
or determining farm-level production practices pesticide use at the pace and scale required using
related to agrochemicals is a significant challenge. certification alone.
Supply chain consolidation A small player
3 Solutions
International soya supply chains are largely The UK is a small player in a massive Brazilian soya
controlled by a handful of dominant producers market. Brazil’s exports are valued at US$28.6
and traders. In Brazil, the six largest traders billion, and China is the primary purchaser,
together account for almost 60% of soya exports. buying 73.2% of all Brazilian exports in 2020.44
These companies should play a leading role The influence UK buyers and supply chains might
in addressing the environmental and human exercise over production practices in the country
health issues linked to soya production, but is therefore limited.26 Stop Poison Poultry Report Stop Poison Poultry Report 27
There are meaningful
and critically important
actions that UK policy
makers and the soya
supply chain can take to
address the pesticide-
related harms associated
with Brazilian soya
photo: deforestation
Beyond deforestation over 100 countries, among them Brazil, to halt and
reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030. This
factors have been considered, the Roundtable
decided it might be unwise to set too wide a
requirements in commercial contractual
requirements with suppliers.
Nevertheless, there are meaningful and critically is the latest in a series of international commitments, scope, lest clarity of purpose and impetus for
important actions that UK policy makers and which have mostly been limited in effect, but action was lost. Pesticide and agrochemical use While the focus is on deforestation and land
the soya supply chain can take to address the signal a degree of political ambition to address have therefore not been concertedly addressed. conversion, the Manifesto aims to provide a
pesticide-related harms associated with Brazilian the environmental impacts of traded international platform through which signatories can be
soya, building on recent positive momentum to commodities. The upcoming COP 15 biodiversity The Roundtable has nevertheless played a role in signposted to a broader set of complementary
address deforestation and land conversion risks, conference in Kunming, China, will explicitly frame encouraging and supporting British retailers and actions relating to environmental and social
which have prompted action by both businesses pesticide reduction as an international priority in businesses to adopt sustainable soya policies, outcomes (such as those related to pesticides),
and government. addressing the ecological crisis.46 with a focus on monitoring and reporting and supporting change at a landscape or jurisdictional
increasing uptake of soya certification and feed level in key producing landscapes/countries, such
At a national level, the UK Government has Actors along the UK supply chain have also sought assurance schemes. These policies typically do not as Brazil. The Manifesto provides a framework
introduced new due-diligence requirements to address deforestation and land conversion in explicitly address pesticide use, but they may be through which the pesticides issue might begin to
pertaining to forest risk commodities (such collaboration, with an industry-led UK Roundtable extended to do so (see below). be addressed.
as soya) in the 2021 Environment Act, aiming on Sustainable Soya convened in March 2018 at
to address illegal deforestation in UK supply the behest of the UK Government. The role of the The UK Soy Manifesto is also working with actors All of this provides grounds for optimism and
chains.45 The Act is yet to be fully implemented, Roundtable is to provide buyers and specifiers of across the soya supply chain with the ambition impetus for action. While deforestation and
but should force traders and importers, as well soya in the UK with a platform for renewed impetus that all physical shipments of soya to the UK are land conversion are critically important – and
as poultry processors and retailers, to be more for action on sustainable soya and a means of deforestation and land conversion free as soon as it is understandable that efforts have been
accountable, helping to generate a greater degree tracking and communicating progress. possible, and by 2025 at the latest. Signatories to focussed on these issues to date – the evidence
of transparency in soya supply chains. the Manifesto, which include the major retailers of harm associated with pesticide use is now
The Roundtable has, to date, focused on and several major poultry processors, are expected overwhelming. The case for action is compelling.
The UK Government also led efforts at an deforestation and land conversion. While a broader to embed the 2025 deadline and accompanying It’s time to talk solutions.
international level to attain a pledge at COP 26 from range of environmental, social, and economic28 Stop Poison Poultry Report Stop Poison Poultry Report 29
Solutions: UK Government
The UK Government has a critically important role to play in addressing
the pesticide-related harms discussed above. As a minimum, the UK
Government should –
• Prohibit companies operating in the UK from • and in addition, obtain information, supported by
selling highly hazardous pesticides abroad. evidence, regarding the cultivated area in terms
Agrochemical companies operating in the UK of environmental protections and land use rights,
exported pesticides containing 12,240 tonnes supported by guidance from UK Government
of seven different chemicals banned in the UK pertaining to the UK’s commitments regarding
in 2020. They included paraquat, a weedkiller human rights abuses and environmental crimes.
linked to Parkinson’s disease; imidacloprid, This guidance should ensure that human rights
a neonicotinoid banned in 2018 because it concerns and environmental degradation are
harms bees; propiconazole, a fungicide banned integral to effective due diligence.
because it was classified as capable of harming
babies in the womb; and chlorothalonil, a • Commit to a pesticide reduction target as part
fungicide banned in 2019 over concerns that of the Paris-style agreement for nature that will
it might contaminate groundwater. This is be signed at COP 15 in Kunming, China, later this
unethical and dangerous. Companies year. The Summit will introduce targets across a
operating in the UK should not be allowed to sell range of environmental outcomes, among them
these products.47 a two-thirds percentage reduction target for
pesticide use. The UK Government and devolved
• Ensure that the due diligence requirements of administrations should commit to this target,
the 2021 Environment Act are applied to soya. both in relation to traded commodities and
The UK Soy
The Act aims to address illegal deforestation in UK domestic production. Manifesto provides
supply chains, but the scope of the requirements an opportunity to
and guidance for business is still being developed. • Introduce, as recommended by PAN UK and
Soya should be of primary concern, with actors Sustain in their recent ‘Toxic Trade’ report, begin to address
‘maximum residue levels’ (MRLs) for all
across the supply chain supported to enhance
produce used for animal feed, including soya pesticide use
transparency and reporting, building the
integrity and visibility of the soya supply chain. sourced from Brazil. Currently, while produce
Accordingly, UK businesses to whom the Act for direct human consumption, such as fruit and
applies should, we suggest, be required to: vegetables, has legally defined MRLs, soya used
as animal feed is exempt. These MRLs should be
• obtain information, supported by evidence, set at equal levels (or lower) than those applied to
that allows them to trace the soya in their
supply chain to the geospatial location on
human foods. See ‘Toxic Trade’ for further details
of this recommendation.48
Solutions: Industry Collaboration
which it was cultivated; verify whether that The UK Roundtable on Sustainable Soya and the This reporting will be supported by the
land has been subject to deforestation or • Aim for UK consumption and production UK Soy Manifesto have made important progress development of a harmonised monitoring,
conversion; identify the actors involved in the of poultry to ‘peak’ within 12 months and towards a more sustainable soya supply chain. reporting and verification (MRV) system, which
production process; identify all “relevant local decline thereafter, including by phasing out While the focus has been on deforestation and will provide an independently verified measure of
laws” and the legal requirements they impose; intensive poultry from the menus of public land conversion, the UK Soy Manifesto provides an imported soya against the Manifesto goals. The
and determine whether the “relevant local setting canteens, placing a moratorium on the opportunity to begin to address pesticide use. MRV system should also include criteria pertaining
laws” have been complied with; construction of new intensive poultry units, to pesticide and agrochemical use, developed in
and implementing the National Food Strategy Manifesto signatories will be required to publish dialogue with the Soil Association and PAN UK.
recommendation for mandatory reporting on an annual progress report, outlining their progress
protein sales and method of production in retail each year. This will initially focus on deforestation
and other settings. See the Soil Association’s and land conversion, but in time these reports
‘Peak Poultry’ briefing for further detail.49 might – and should – be expanded to include
reporting on agrochemical use.You can also read
