China's demand for meat—for food security—drives deforestation in Brazil. As the world’s largest consumer of soy, China's hunger has fueled a fight over land use in the Amazon, where much of soy is grown, accelerating the loss of biodiversity and contributing to the global climate emergency. For a country that has pledged to honor the Paris agreement, Beijing’s food security policy runs counter to its environmental efforts. Journalists Melissa Chan and Heriberto Araújo have reported extensively on China's impact beyond its borders. This time, they journey to the Amazon for a closer look. A weakly regulated region, soy farmers and cattle ranchers have encroached on indigenous and protected areas here for years. Under Brazil’s new president, Jair Bolsonaro, this process has accelerated the climate emergency. All eyes are now on a game-changing project: the Chinese-backed Ferrogrão railroad, part of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative that would transform Brazil’s soy industry by connecting its interior to the Amazonian waterways. Such a link, which would cut through some of the most pristine forests on earth, would pull Brazil ahead of its main competitor in the global soy market—the United States—but at what cost? Chan and Araújo meet indigenous leaders, fishing communities, environmental activists, and soy producers to learn more.
The Triumph Over the River That Defeated Henry Ford (Spanish)
On the banks of the Tapajós River, one of the largest tributaries of the Amazon, a development policy was implemented years ago to turn the region into an important world corridor for Brazilian soybeans. There lies American car mogul Henry Ford’s failed factory city.
The Railway Project That Faces Settlers and Indigenous Groups (Spanish)
A project called the "grain train," with its planned trajectory through the Brazilian Amazon, divides Indigenous groups and those who support rural development.
Without the Kayapó, There Won't Be a Grain Train (Spanish)
An ambitious infrastructure project in the Brazil is increasingly opposed the closer it gets to the heart of the Amazon—an area that has been defended by Indigenous communities for years.
The Dream of a Jungle Train Loaded With Soy (Portuguese)
The Brazilian city Sinop embodies the aspirations of a prosperous Amazonian agro-industry — especially now, with the prospect of a railroad that will help send exports to China.
Behind the Story: China in the Amazon Rainforest
What happens when the world’s most populous country has an appetite for beef and soy produced in Brazil? How China helps fuel the deforestation of the Amazon.
Ferrogrão, a Path of Illusion
A project considered strategic by the Brazilian government underestimates socio-environmental impacts in one of the most threatened regions of the Amazon.