Protect Amazonia – NO to the EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement!

To: the European Commission and the governments of the Member States

“A free trade agreement with the Mercosur countries would be a threat to people and the environment. Please drop the planned agreement.”

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Brazil's government was particularly reckless in its agricultural and environmental policies under the previous president, Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro has been indicted for genocide against the country's indigenous people at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. We support the indictment in our petition "Prosecute Brazilian President Bolsonaro for genocide!", which has been signed by more than 228,000 people from all over the world.

On October 7, 2020, the European Parliament passed an amendment stating that the planned EU agreement with the four South American Mercosur countries cannot be ratified as it stands.

The EU parliamentarians' demands include making the Paris climate agreement as well as the Convention on Biological Diversity essential components of the free trade agreement. It also called for the agreement to be environmentally friendly and to respect the rights of indigenous peoples affected by deforestation, land grabbing and structural violence.

Further information:

Shorthand: The Companies Behind the Burning of the Amazon

Joint letter to end European complicity in fires in the Brazilian Amazon

FERN: press release on plea to address EU complicity

To: the European Commission and the governments of the Member States

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The EU is seeking a trade agreement with the Mercosur countries that aims to facilitate exports to Europe, in particular of beef, chicken, sugar and ethanol. This is will lead to an intensification of agriculture with negative impacts on nature and the rural population.

We see the following dangers in such an agreement:

– Higher beef quotas will lead to an increase in production in South America, to an expansion of feedlots and thus to the clearing of forests and savannas. At the same time, it would increase pressure on European farmers to intensify their production at the expense of animal welfare.

– Intensified agriculture in South America is often associated with land rights conflicts and human rights violations, including slave labor. The widespread use of agricultural toxins such as glyphosate endangers the health of many people.

– Regulations pertaining to non-tariff trade barriers endanger European environmental standards, consumer and workers’ rights. The precautionary principle enshrined in the EU is coming under pressure and democratic principles are being betrayed.

By negotiating behind closed doors, the European Commission seems to be pursuing the same strategy as with the TTIP and CETA agreements, which prompted millions to protest. The EU does not seem to have drawn any conclusions from these protests and, with the Mercosur agreement, is pursuing an equally damaging trade policy.

We call on you to scrap the planned agreement for the benefit of the people and environment on both sides of the Atlantic.

Yours faithfully,

The issue – our appetite for meat

Most people in rich countries consider meat to be essential to a good meal. That holds especially true for Americans, who each consumed 90 kilograms of meat in 2014 – in the same year, the global average was 34 kilograms. There are 19 billion chickens, 1.4 billion cows, 1 billion pigs and 1 billion sheep on the planet at any given time – that’s three head of livestock for every person.

Maintaining such a huge livestock population has a very high price: 26 percent of the world’s ice-free land is used for livestock grazing and 33 percent of the world’s cropland is dedicated to growing livestock feed. Instead of feeding humans, a significant share of the world’s wheat, corn, barley and soybeans is thus used to raise livestock. Soybean meal is the largest source of protein animal feed in the world, and the areas needed for its production are expanding into fragile ecosystems such as the Brazilian Cerrado and the Amazon.

The impact – deforestation, monocultures, climate change

Landscapes once covered by rainforest and savannah are now marked by endless industrial agriculture spaces. More than 75 million hectares are devoted to growing soy – an area three times the size of the United Kingdom. Indigenous people are frequently displaced when their forests are bulldozed or torched, and those that remain are often in grave danger due to pesticide exposure: Roundup-Ready Monsanto GMO soybean plants are grown on 31 to 38 percent of the total planted area in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The active ingredient in Roundup is glyphosate, an herbicide that is suspected of causing cancer and damaging human DNA.

Producing meat has a profound impact on the climate: with methane from bovine stomachs, carbon released by deforestation and fossil-fueled machinery, and nitrous oxide released by synthetic fertilizer, animal agriculture accounts for 18 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The solution – plant power and planned indulgences

Our food choices have a direct impact on the future of the rainforests: the animal products we eat account for 72 percent of all food-related greenhouse gas emissions. Their production also requires many times more farmland than plant products for human consumption.

Here is how you can help protect your health, the environment and the climate:

1. Eat alternatives to meat and dairy products: Seitan steaks, lupin spreads, soy milk and other tasty and nutritious alternatives to animal products can be found in virtually any supermarket.
2. If you must eat meat, make it an occasional treat: If you are not ready to give up meat entirely, reduce your consumption as much as possible and make meat a planned indulgence. Choosing organic meat can help further reduce the environmental impact of your diet.
3. Say yes to soy products: Only about two percent of the world's soy crop is processed into tofu, soy yogurt and similar products. Soy for human consumption is mostly grown in Europe and does not drive deforestation.
4. Stop food waste: Consumers in North America and Europe each waste between 95 and 110 kg of food a year – much of it meat. Planning your grocery shopping with care can literally save lives.
5. Speak out: Tens of thousands have taken part in street protests such as the March Against Monsanto to pressure policymakers and advocate forms of agriculture that take human health, animal welfare and climate protection into account. Taking part in online petitions and writing to your elected representatives can also make a real difference.