SOY & CATTLE TRACKER METHODOLOGY

The Soy & Cattle Tracker identifies deforestation and native vegetation clearance in Brazil using satellite imagery and connects these cases to the supply chains of seven major soy traders and three major meatpackers. Companies are scored out of 100 based on criteria including the number of linked cases, total hectares of clearance, possible illegal clearance, responsiveness to reports, resolution of cases, and transparency. The system utilizes data from the Rapid Response system, filtering deforestation alerts from the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research’s DETER system and World Resources Institute’s GLAD alerts to focus on the most egregious cases with strong supply chain links.

• The Soy & Cattle Tracker monitors seven major soy traders—Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM), AMAGGI, Bunge, Cargill, COFCO International, Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC), and the joint venture ALZ—and three major meatpackers—JBS, Marfrig, and Minerva.
• Companies are evaluated using a 100-point scoring system across six categories: total linked Rapid Response cases (15 pts), total native vegetation clearance in hectares (20 pts), possible illegal clearance in hectares (20 pts), responsiveness to reports (15 pts), resolution of cases (15 pts), and transparency via public grievance logs (15 pts).
• The methodology defines 'possible illegal clearance' as deforestation occurring within a Legal Reserve or Permanent Preservation Area (APP) as declared in the Cadastro Ambiental Rural (CAR) system under the Brazilian Forest Code (Law 12.651/2012), though it is termed 'possible' because government authorization for clearance in these areas may exist.
• Supply chain links are attributed to a trader or meatpacker if there is a known connection to the property, the owning group, or the producer, including direct/indirect sourcing, shared ownership, past sourcing, or the purchase of other commodities from the same supplier.
• The system identifies cases by filtering deforestation alerts from the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research’s DETER system and World Resources Institute’s GLAD alerts, focusing on the top five municipalities with the most hectares of clearance in the Amazon and Cerrado.

APA

Mighty Earth (2023). SOY & CATTLE TRACKER METHODOLOGY. https://mightyearth.org/methodology/

Chicago

Mighty Earth. SOY & CATTLE TRACKER METHODOLOGY. 2023. https://mightyearth.org/methodology/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Mighty Earth |title=SOY & CATTLE TRACKER METHODOLOGY |date=15 December 2023 |url=https://mightyearth.org/methodology/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mightyearth2023soy, author = {{Mighty Earth}}, title = {{SOY \& CATTLE TRACKER METHODOLOGY}}, institution = {Mighty Earth}, year = {2023}, month = dec, url = {https://mightyearth.org/methodology/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }