Amazon soy export plant shut down in win for environmentalists
Greens did a victory dance this weekend as Brazil forced U.S. agribiz giant Cargill to close a soy export terminal in the country’s Amazon region. The facility has long been the focus of a targeted Greenpeace campaign protesting rapid deforestation of the tropical rainforest — which lost about 6,500 square miles between 2005 and 2006 — for growing soy, which is then used as cheap feed for future chicken nuggets, wings, and drumsticks. The terminal’s closure, which the company plans to appeal, was the result of a court ruling that Cargill had failed to submit a required environmental impact assessment. Said chief prosecutor Felicio Pontes, “Cargill believed that because they were a powerful multinational, they could disrespect both Brazilian legislation and the environment.” Though the distribution plant has been involved in a lengthy legal battle, often on the losing end, Friday’s decision was the first to actually suspend work. Respect that, soy-suckas.
