“The alternative to Norway for Brazilian soybean producers are markets with lower standards,” argued André Guimarães.
Recently there have been many forest fires in the Amazon this late summer, and the fires are linked to deforestation, where rainforests, among other things, are replaced by soy.
Environmental organisations, SV and MDG have recently demanded that Norwegian feed producers and salmon farmers increase pressure on suppliers and authorities in Brazil. In April, SV proposed introducing a marketing ban on sustainable fish feed – with the goal of replacing soy by 2028.
According to Wednesday’s paper edition of Klassekampen, several companies in the aquaculture industry have expressed concern about a situation they describe as “acute” and dramatic. Last week, Mowi announced that it was open to drop Brazilian soy in the salmon feed and to find other sources of feed ingredients unless the situation improves.
In an opinion piece on SalmonBusiness on Tuesday, Skretting’s Sustainability Manager Trygve Berg Lea, wrote – amongst other things – that the company is worried that soy will not be accepted due to increased deforestation in the Amazon, increased media attention and increased pressure from environmental protection organizations.
But in an e-mail to the publication Klassekampen, Amazon Environmental Research Institute Director – IPAM Amazônia – André Guimarães, warned against Norway dropping soy.
“The alternative to Norway for Brazilian soybean producers are markets with lower standards, which can reduce environmental protection and lead to more deforestation,” Guimarães wrote to the newspaper.
However, Guimarães stressed that Norwegian companies “must continue to investigate their suppliers and ask for information about the regions and the producer of soy”.
