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In pictures: countdown to extinction

Posted by Angela Glienicke - 10th July 2019


Global brands like Mondelēz, Unilever and Nestlé are failing to meet their commitment to zero deforestation by 2020 and continue to destroy forests for goods like soy, palm oil and cattle.

According to a recent Greenpeace report the area planted with soy in Brazil has increased by 45% since 2010 and more than half of the most biodiverse Savannah’s in the world, the Cerrado, has been destroyed for commodities such as soy and corn for export. Forests help regulate the Earth’s climate by absorbing carbon from the atmosphere, they also provide a home for traditional communities and countless species. The images below illustrate the beauty of the Cerrado and what is at stake if the agribusiness continues to expand.
The six-banded armadillo, also known as the yellow armadillo, pictured in Miranda, Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil is one of the many species threatened by the expanding agribusiness.
The Acaba Vida Waterfall, photographed near the “Ring of Soy”, in Bahia state.
The southern crested caracara, also known as southern caracara or carancho, in Formosa do Rio Preto, Bahia state, Brazil, is one of many species in the Cerrado threatened by the agribusiness expansion fuelled by a high production of soy and corn for export.
The Cerrado is the second largest biome in Brazil, occupying 22% of the national territory. Despite being the most biodiverse savannah in the world, more than half of its area has already been destroyed, due to the reckless advance of an agriculture model aimed to produce commodities, such as soy and corn, for export.
This image shows an area for soybean plantation in the “Ring of Soy”, which holds several farms, storage, processing and distribution centers in the cities of Luís Eduardo Magalhães, Riachão das Neves, Formosa do Rio Preto and Barreiras, Bahia state, in the Cerrado.
The Cerrado biome is a very diverse and vast tropical savanna ecoregion of Brazil. It contains forests, plains, savannas and huge amount of natural resources.
For centuries, local traditional populations have been living in its fields and plains without destroying the natural landscape, sourcing their livelihood from all its richness. But the agribusiness expansion movement is risking its survival and the availability of natural resources, causing conflicts over land and even water.
This aerial view shows an unit of Cargill in the municipality of Barreiras, in the western part of the state of Bahia.
The Bush dog is one of the many species in the Cerrado threatened by the expansion of the agribusiness.
The Roseate spoonbill is another species in the Cerrado threatened by the agribusiness expansion.
A grain truck is crossing an industrial scale soybean plantation in the “Ring of Soy”. Brazil is the largest exporter of soybeans in the world. Soybean cultivation has accelerated the deforestation of Brazilian biomes such as the Cerrado, June 2019.
Greenpeace Canada activists peacefully demonstrate at the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) Global Summit in Vancouver, Canada.

Right now, all over the world, people are demanding the world’s biggest companies end forest destruction. We’re living in a climate emergency, and our forests are a vital way to combat it. Stand with thousands all over the world, and tell companies to put our planet before their profits.