The subject may seem remote, but it nevertheless affects us directly because of the consumption of imported food produced on agricultural areas resulting from deforestation.
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There are many products in our supermarkets that contain soy, palm oil and cocoa. So many imported foods whose production requires the use of vast agricultural areas, sometimes nibbled on ancient forests. It should be noted that on a global scale, 90% of forest decline can be explained by the extension of cultivated land or livestock. This is particularly the case in Brazil, Argentina, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Congo Basin. The consumer is not always aware of this, but through its imports, the European Union is thus responsible for 10% of global deforestation. This is called imported deforestation. Tropical deforestation alone represents between 10 and 12% of CO2 emissions due to human activities. The disappearance of these tropical trees is not compensated by the planting of forests elsewhere in the world.
The European Commission intends to limit the phenomenon by asking European companies to ensure that the raw materials they import have been produced without forest destruction. The text proposed Wednesday, November 17 should concern, a priori, six everyday consumer products: beef, coffee, chocolate, palm oil, wood and soy. For the European Commission, it is agricultural production that is most closely linked to the destruction of forest ecosystems. Several organizations like Greenpeace or WWF would like to add rubber and corn to this list.
Companies will be able to detect the risk of deforestation in the products they import using satellite images. By comparing an archive photo of the cultivated field, and a current photo, it will be possible to see if the plot has grown to the detriment of the trees or not. The product will only be able to enter the European market if it is stamped zero deforestation, compared to a date that remains to be defined. It could be 2020.