Articles by Anna Sophie Gross

Agribusiness, well backed by government, is hailed an “economic miracle.” But family farms, with nominal help, provide 70% of the food Brazilians eat.

Alcoa, Vale Mining, Suez Energy, Camargo Corrêa Energia, and Brazil’s government promised the town of Formosa mega-dam reparations, a pledge never fulfilled.

Over 3,000 Quilombos, rural communities established by runaway slaves, are seeing their legal land claims denied and settlements whittled away by Brazilian government policies, say critics.

Brazilian eucalyptus growers are moving into the Cerrado biome, raising concerns over land theft from traditional communities and over the loss of native vegetation.

Traditional communities in Brazil’s savannah, lacking land deeds, have been displaced by large-scale soy growers, and forced to resettle in impoverished cities like Campos Lindos.

Brazil is a leading global consumer of chemical pesticides – many banned in the EU and U.S. This not only puts farmworkers at risk, but consumers of Brazilian food the world round.

Brazil’s rural poor were once well served by social programs that offered urgently needed income, food, water and hope. But those programs have seen recent deep cuts, hurting rural communities.

Transnational commodities firm pledges to eliminate Amazon and Cerrado deforestation from its supply chain; environmentalists laud the plan, but say it lacks implementation and timeline details.

Brazilian law allows landless families to claim abandoned private land. But Gabriel Filho residents have been evicted by a large-scale landowner accused of killing the hamlet’s namesake.

“Grazing the Amazon,” a new film, is winning international acclaim and bringing public attention to severe deforestation caused by cattle ranching in the Brazilian Amazon.

A study finds that abandoned pasture does not regain its former biodiversity, even after 25 years. Introducing fire as a management tool could help enrich habitat.

The Cerrado Manifesto could reduce rapid conversion of forest to cropland in Brazil’s savannah, but commodity firms Cargill, Bunge, ADM need to sign on, analysts say.

Nearly 50 percent of Brazil’s lower house of congress received political donations from companies and individuals who committed environmental crimes, raising questions about influence peddling.

27 percent of Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park in Goiás state has burned; flames blazed for 12 days. Arson is suspected, with recent park enlargement a possible motive.

Soy-fed chicken sold in British supermarkets and fast food chains — including Tesco, Morrisons and McDonald’s — appear to be driving deforestation in the Bolivian Amazon and Brazilian Cerrado.