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The World Wildlife Fund released its Soy Scorecard, which uses cultivation, land use, and workers' rights data to score the practices of 133 European companies in the soy industry.

Unilever goal aims at ending illegal deforestation. Unilever and other companies "made a commitment not to sell anything anymore from illegal deforestation by the year 2020 -- soy, paper, pulp, beef, palm oil.

A soy moratorium imposed by a private sector alliance has been more effective at stopping deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon than government regulation

British fast food restaurants and grocery chains, including Tesco, Morrisons and McDonald's, buy their chicken from Cargill, which feeds its poultry with imported soy, much of it apparently coming from the Bolivian Amazon and Brazilian Cerrado - areas rapidly being deforested for new soy plantations.

Brazil's conservative National Congress has rushed to pass a wave of legislative initiatives, which taken all together, would dismantle much of the nation's body of law protecting the environment and indigenous people - an effort likely to escalate in 2017. The latest attempt occurred last week, just before the parliamentary recess. The agricultural lobby unexpectedly put forward three bills, known as Decretos Legislativos (PDCs), which are laws promulgated by the President of the Senate over which the country's President does not have the right of veto. If eventually passed, as seems likely, the bills will allow industrial waterways (requiring many dozens of new dams) to be built without the proper assessment of environmental and social impacts. The waterways would be used by agribusiness as a cheap means of exporting soy and other commodities.

Demand for soy and other crops grown in Bolivia and Brazil may be contributing to a rise in deforestation in the Amazon basin. In Bolivia, for example, estimates are that 865,000 acres of land have been deforested annually since 2011, up from 667,000 acres a year during the previous decade.

Colgate-Palmolive issued a new Policy on No Deforestation, which commits the company to sustainably sourcing pulp, paper, palm oil, soy, and beef tallow. The company also pledged to achieve full traceability of its palm oil supply chain by 2015 under the policy.

Archers Daniels Midland (ADM) said it would announce details of a new "No Deforestation" policy for soy and palm oil at its May 7 annual meeting. The move follows pressure from investors Green Century Capital Management and the New York State Common Retirement Fund.

Monsanto has set its sights on global vegetable dominance and its lead contender is Beneforté broccoli, which is described as "even more of a good thing." The agribusiness giant is hedging its enormous bets placed on a corn-and-soy-driven business as consumer demand for healthier and less processed foods assails CPGs in all food and beverage categories from soda to cereal.

Food and commodities giant ADM, which has reached over US$80 billion in revenues, says it will develop a no-deforestation policy in a move to source soy and palm oil more responsibly. The change occurred after a shareholder proposal, submitted by Green Century Capital Management and the New York State Common Retirement Fund, requested that ADM set quantitative goals for a reduction in supply chain impacts from deforestation....

Kellogg is planning to require its suppliers to curb their greenhouse emissions as part of a broader push to reduce the company's environmental impact. The company also announced new plans to expand its net-zero deforestation pledge to include crops such as soy and sugarcane

France yesterday unveiled plans to reduce its carbon footprint by ceasing sales of gas and diesel vehicles by 2040 and then becoming carbon neutral by 2050, Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot said. France also plans to end coal-fired energy production by 2022, cut nuclear power use from 75% to 50% in eight years and halt imports of unsustainably grown palm oil and soy beans.