The cultivation of tropical products is frequently at the root of forest destruction in the countries that produce them. Consequently, by importing and consuming certain foods, we are indirectly responsible for deforestation in tropical and sub-tropical countries. More precisely, according to a recent WWF report, the European Union, after China, is the second largest "importer of deforestation" (and of the related greenhouse gas emissions it causes). Italy in particular, based on 2017 data, ranked second among the least virtuous European states.

Europe is second only to China in terms of imported deforestation

"The continuing impact of EU consumption on nature" is the title of the report, based on data and analysis produced by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and on analysis by Transparency for Sustainable Economies-Trase. According to the calculations, in 2017 EU imports were responsible for the deforestation and conversion of 203,000 hectares of natural land, with the emission of 116 million tonnes of CO2. In percentage terms, the EU caused 16 per cent of the deforestation associated with international trade, surpassing India (9 per cent), the United States (7 per cent) and Japan (5 per cent). Only China, at 24 per cent of deforestation caused, ranked ahead of Europe.

The foods under scrutiny

From 2005 to 2017, soy, palm oil and beef were, in quantitative terms, the EU-imported products with the greatest impact on tropical deforestation, followed by wood products sourced from plantations, then cocoa and coffee. Eight of Europe's largest economies (in order: Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Poland) alone generated 80 per cent of the deforestation linked to EU imports from tropical countries.

Not just forests: the damage extends to other ecosystems too

EU demand for these products leads not only to the destruction of tropical forests, but also of grasslands and wetlands. The report highlights, for example, the links between soy and beef consumption and the conversion of grasslands into agricultural land, as in the cases of the Cerrado in Brazil and the Chaco in Argentina and Paraguay.

In light of this information, WWF has called for the various types of ecosystems to be taken into account in European legislation aimed at reducing the Union's impact. The non-governmental organisation therefore proposes that the sustainability of raw materials and products entering Europe be guaranteed through traceability and transparency in supply chains, as well as through respect for human rights in the harvesting or production of raw materials placed on the European market.