Agriculture, livestock and food
59 cases in 42 countries, 1953–2025. Most cases: United States (8), Brazil (6), Ukraine (4), Uzbekistan (4), Iran (4).
Vegetable-oil and fuel spills after strikes on Odesa-region ports, December 2025–April 2026
Strikes on export ports at Pivdennyi and Chornomorsk in December 2025 and April 2026 released vegetable oil into the sea. The Tuzly Lagoons park estimated more than 1,000 dead birds; no case-specific damage sum is on record.
JBS net-zero pledge to be a 'target', not a 'commitment'
Food Business News reported a settlement with JBS USA over its net-zero claim, under which the pledge would be called a 'target' rather than a 'commitment'. The cited sources give no emissions data.
Morocco says it cut cadmium in phosphate fertilisers; EU cannot verify the claim
Morocco says it has reduced cadmium in its fertilisers, but Brussels acknowledges it cannot verify this against the EU limit of 60 mg/kg.
Papua food and energy estate (Indonesia)
Indonesia declared a food and energy project in Merauke, South Papua, a National Strategic Project in 2024. Sources put its size at between 1.2 million and over 2 million hectares, and report forest clearing with military participation.
Suspicion notices over UAH 49.2 million in farmland demining contracts, Mykolaiv oblast
On 22 June 2026 Ukrainian investigators reported that six people had been notified of suspicion over humanitarian demining of agricultural land that, according to investigators, was not carried out. The damage to the state was stated as UAH 49.2 million; no court outcome is on record.
Philippine appeals court blocks commercial GM rice and Bt eggplant
An appeals court in the Philippines blocked commercial propagation of genetically modified rice, known as golden rice, and Bt eggplant, ELAW reported in April 2024. A national science academy said the crops do more harm than good; a farmers' network called the ruling a win.
WWF-UK corporate income falls to GBP 10.6m as charity consults on 90 job cuts
WWF-UK's corporate income fell to GBP 10.6m in 2024-25 as partnerships with Tesco, HSBC, Reckitt and KPMG ended or shrank. In November 2025 the charity opened a consultation on 90 job cuts, about 20% of its staff, and the cited sources do not state the reason for the cuts.
Arla denies Gates link to Bovaer cattle feed additive pilot in UK
Arla began a UK pilot of the Bovaer methane feed additive in November 2024. Grocery Gazette reported that the additive is approved by EFSA and the UK Food Standards Agency, and Arla called a claimed link to Gates 'completely false'.
Gezira irrigation scheme: wartime losses in Al Gezira State
Satellite analysis and agency figures record a fall in crop health, diverted and flooded canals, a 58% fall in wheat production and at least 6,126 ha of natural vegetation lost in Al Gezira State after fighting reached Sudan's largest irrigation scheme in 2023.
Complaint under German supply chain law targets Dole's Megabanana operation
A 2023 complaint under German supply chain law alleged low minimum wages, weak pesticide protection and union opposition at the Megabanana operation of the Dole group. The cited sources do not record its outcome or any effect on the environment.
Ukraine's mine contamination, the farmland demining programme and mine-action money
Ukrainian authorities put the area potentially contaminated with mines and explosive remnants of war at over 130,000 km² in April 2026, and the World Bank put the cost of explosive hazard management and debris clearance at almost USD 28 billion in February 2026. The state farmland programme had concluded 175 contracts covering almost 34,000 hectares by October 2026, and the US-Ukraine fund signed its first minerals deal on 2-3 October 2026.
Munition residues and war damage in Ukrainian soils: measurements and state damage assessments
Peer-reviewed studies of soils in Kharkiv and Kirovohrad oblasts and a screening of frontline and urban areas measured heavy metals and explosive residues at impact sites, and Ukraine's State Ecological Inspectorate assessed soil damage at almost UAH 20 billion for pollution and over UAH 1,169 billion for littering of land resources.
Japan 'Kumamoto clam' sales reported at about 120 times the annual Kumamoto catch
Ministry of Agriculture data, reported by Jiji, show 2,485 tonnes sold under the Kumamoto clam name against an annual Kumamoto catch of 21 tonnes. The stake is whether the label matches where the clams come from.
PepsiCo potato variety registration (India)
The registration of PepsiCo's FL-2027 potato variety in India was revoked in 2021. The Delhi High Court upheld the revocation in 2023, and a division bench of the same court set it aside in 2024.
Sri Lanka fertiliser ban
In 2021 Sri Lanka banned chemical fertiliser as part of an organic farming drive and reversed the ban within months. The main-season rice harvest fell by about 40%.
Indorama Agro cotton project (Uzbekistan)
A cotton producer in Uzbekistan took loans from the IFC, the EBRD and the Asian Development Bank and repaid them early in January 2025. Civil-society groups reported job losses, displacement and reprisals in its area of operation.
Grain traders report 93–99% of Cerrado soy as deforestation-free
The traders' own forum declared 93–99% of 2023/24 Cerrado soy deforestation-free, while Mighty Earth's monitoring lists potentially linked losses for Bunge and Cargill. The Cerrado savanna is the nature at stake, and the cited sources do not give the period covered by the loss figures.
IFFCO sells nano urea under a fertiliser subsidy; a Punjab trial reported lower yields
India's fertiliser subsidy costs about 1.88 lakh crore rupees a year, 75 percent of it for urea. The cooperative IFFCO markets nano urea as an alternative, and a two-year independent trial at Punjab Agricultural University reported lower wheat and rice yields.
Unilever sold The Vegetarian Butcher to JBS-owned Vivera in March 2025
JBS, the world's largest meat company, owns the plant-based brand Vivera, which bought The Vegetarian Butcher from Unilever in 2025. JBS also took a majority stake in cultivated-meat firm BioTech Foods in 2021. The cited sources do not say what either deal means for land or emissions.
Sime Darby Plantation withhold release order
In December 2020 US Customs and Border Protection issued a Withhold Release Order on palm oil produced by Sime Darby Plantation, on forced-labour grounds. Later steps are reported only in secondary listings and are not stated here as fact.
Indonesia seizure of plantations in forest areas and transfer to Agrinas Palma
In 2025 an Indonesian task force said it had reclaimed about 3.4 million hectares of plantations in forest areas and handed about 1.5 million hectares to the company Agrinas Palma. A research centre disputed how much of the first area was palm oil.
Indonesia's palm garden amnesty collected 822 billion rupiah by May 2024
Indonesia's environment ministry estimated 2,130 suitable palm gardens covering 2.1 million hectares of forest area. Fines were based on a simplified timber value, and the Attorney General's Office opened a corruption investigation in October 2024.
Thai court lets 712 Cambodian families bring class action against sugar firm
In July 2020 a Thai court ruled that 712 Cambodian families could bring a class action against a sugar company, Amnesty International reported. The cited sources do not give the outcome of the action.
EU mirror measure on antimicrobials and Brazil beef exclusion
A measure adopted by the European Union in 2019 became applicable seven years later. From 3 September 2026 Brazil, which the EU did not list as providing sufficient antimicrobial assurances, can no longer export meat to the EU.
Fresh Del Monte closure of four Costa Rica banana farms
On 5 May 2026 Fresh Del Monte announced the closure of four banana farms in Limón province, Costa Rica, covering about 1,200 hectares and more than 850 workers. The company cited currency, plant disease, climate and cost factors.
Socfin and Socapalm lose French defamation suit against media and NGOs
Socfin and Socapalm, Bolloré-linked palm oil and rubber companies, lost a French defamation suit against Mediapart, L'Obs, Le Point, Sherpa and ReAct. The case concerns the right of journalists and NGOs to report on palm oil plantations.
Cargill IBAMA fine (Brazil)
In May 2018 Brazil's environment agency IBAMA announced a fine of R$5,000,000 on Cargill Agrícola for buying soy from areas IBAMA had embargoed in the Cerrado. Cargill is also a listed corporate partner of WWF-US.
Uzbek cotton boycott ends forced labour
A global boycott of Uzbek cotton was lifted in March 2022 after the ILO reported that the state-organised harvest mobilisation had ended. Later monitoring reports recorded continuing local coercion, pressure on farmers, and land and purchasing control concentrated in private cotton clusters.
Zoetis growth-promoter sales in India and portfolio sale to Phibro
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism reported in 2018 that Zoetis sold antibiotics in India with a promise of faster livestock growth, without a prescription. In 2024 Zoetis sold its medicated feed additive portfolio to Phibro for $350 million.
Uzbek cotton clusters took farmers' land and set quotas, rights group reports
Human Rights Watch reported in February 2026 that cotton and wheat farmers in Uzbekistan face quotas, threats to their land, beatings and detention. Land and purchasing were moved into non-tender clusters, and state banks and taxpayers absorbed the losses.
Tesco fictional farm brands (UK)
In 2016 Tesco launched seven fictional farm brand names for its products. A farmers' union complained to Trading Standards; Tesco said the names denote a quality specification, not a farm.
US sales of medically important antibiotics for food animals rose 16% in 2024
The FDA reports that US sales of medically important antimicrobials for food-producing animals rose 16% in 2024, to 6,127,991 kg, though still 27% below the 2015 peak. The figure measures sales, not animal use.
Electricity and diesel for groundwater pumping in Iran: subsidies and payments
The IMF estimated Iran's explicit energy subsidies at US$58.7 billion in 2019, almost 10% of GDP, according to the World Bank. Programmes to electrify diesel-powered agricultural wells were estimated at US$1.2 billion in 2019, and in 2024 the state utility Tavanir began paying farmers to cut pumping at peak hours.
Egg producer penalised by Australian regulator for misleading free-range claims
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) penalised an egg producer for misleading free-range claims, in a release dated 2014 to 2016. The stake is whether hens sold as free-range had outdoor access.
Sudan gum arabic belt: wartime production losses and EU and GCF funding
Sudan's annual gum arabic production fell from 150,000 tons to 60,000 tons because of the conflict, according to the UN Panel of Experts, which also reported traders' accounts of about 3,700 tons "looted" in Darfur in the first half of 2024 and attributed it to the RSF, allied militias and SLA/MM. The EU and the Green Climate Fund had committed money to the gum belt, including a USD 9,975,000 GCF grant.
Wadi El Ku catchment project, North Darfur
In August 2013 UNEP launched an EU-funded catchment management project of EUR 6.45 million in Wadi El Ku, North Darfur, where it said more than 700,000 people depend on the wadi for water and livelihoods. A second phase began in 2018.
European development banks financed Feronia palm plantations in Congo
FMO and other European development banks invested $100 million to $200 million from 2013 in Feronia/PHC palm plantations in DR Congo. Nine communities seek the return of their land, and the cited sources do not measure forest loss.
Mongolia's dzud winters and degraded pasture: emergency funding for herders
Severe winters (dzud) killed millions of livestock in Mongolia in 2009–2010 and 2023–2024, in rangelands where most monitored sites are altered from reference condition. UN, Red Cross and state funds paid for cash transfers and carcass removal.
Tyson and Sanderson Farms 'no antibiotics' label cases
Two US poultry producers faced legal challenges over 'no antibiotics' and '100% natural' marketing. A 2024 federal test of 'no antibiotics' beef found residues in about one-fifth of samples.
Malibya concession in the Office du Niger and the Inner Niger Delta water balance
A 2008 convention between Mali and Libya granted 100,000 ha in the Office du Niger area to a Libyan state company for 50 years, with Macina canal water "without restriction" from June to December. Land Matrix records the project as abandoned. A 2016 Wetlands International study projected reduced inflow to the Inner Niger Delta from Office du Niger expansion generally, not from Malibya specifically.
Dutch bank FMO backed a 20,000-hectare Sierra Leone sugar cane lease
FMO, the Dutch development bank, became a partner in Addax Bioenergy's 50-year lease of 20,000 hectares for sugar cane and ethanol in Sierra Leone in 2008. Sixty villages lost land, and FMO withdrew around 2015.
Chikweti forestry plantations (Mozambique)
A Dutch pension fund held a majority stake in a fund that planted pine and eucalyptus in Niassa province, Mozambique. A 2010 government review found that 32,000 hectares were occupied without land-use rights.
Dutch pension fund ABP held a stake in a Mozambique forest fund
A 2010 Mozambican review found that Chikweti Forests of Niassa, held by the Global Solidarity Forest Fund, occupied 32,000 hectares without land-use rights. ABP, which held 60 percent of the fund, acknowledged in 2011 that the investment did not meet its standards but stayed invested.
AGRA (Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa)
AGRA was set up in 2006 by the Gates and Rockefeller foundations to double the yields and incomes of 30 million households by 2020. A 2021 evaluation commissioned by the Gates Foundation said it did not meet its headline goal; reports on hunger and yields in its focus countries give conflicting figures.
Amazon Soy Moratorium
A voluntary pact among soy traders, in force from 2006 and measured to have cut deforestation in soy-suitable Amazon areas by 35% over 2006-2016, ended in January 2026 when the traders left it, after a Mato Grosso state law took effect that allows tax incentives to be withdrawn from firms applying environmental criteria beyond the legal requirement.
Evaluations find AGRA missed its headline goal; Yara buys Italian organic fertiliser firm
AGRA, largely funded by the Gates Foundation, set a 2020 goal of doubling yields and incomes for 30 million households; evaluations disagree on the outcome. Yara, 36.2% owned by the Norwegian state, agreed in 2023 to buy an Italian organic fertiliser business.
Turkish sugar law, starch-based sugar quota and 2018 sugar factory privatisation
Turkey's Sugar Law of 2001 capped the share of starch-based (maize) sugar in the national sugar quota, and the cap moved from 10% to 2.5% over two decades. A multinational maize-sweetener producer, a beet cooperative union, the Treasury and beet and tobacco growers all appear in the cited sources as gainers or losers at different dates.
Mexico avocado: US inspection suspensions and Michoacán deforestation
The United States suspended inspections of Mexican avocados three times between 2022 and 2026 after threats and attacks in Michoacán. Reports link the export boom to forest clearing, extortion and, in Chile's Petorca, to water shortages.
Walton family grants and board ties link Conservation International to Walmart
Walton family grants and board seats connect a conservation group to the retailer's former chair and to a seafood certifier the foundation funds. Nature's stake: wildlife parks in Africa, where the sources record rights and funding disputes.
Altyn Asyr (Golden Age) Turkmen Lake: a drainage-water reservoir in the Karakum
Turkmenistan built a system of collectors to channel saline drainage water into a reservoir in the Karashor depression in the Karakum desert. Reported costs range from USD 4 billion to USD 6.5 billion, and the government has not published a precise figure.
Caspian sturgeon and caviar: trade suspensions, fishing bans and the move to farmed caviar
Legal Caspian sturgeon catch fell from about 22,000 tonnes in the late 1970s to about 1,100 tonnes in the late 1990s, according to TRAFFIC. CITES published wild-caviar export quotas for the last time for 2010–11, the five Caspian states have renewed a commercial fishing ban each year since 2017 (covering 2026), and farms now supply the legal caviar.
Dutch nitrogen crisis and farm buyouts
The Netherlands cut its agricultural nitrogen surplus by 57% between 1990 and 2023, but its national institute for public health and the environment (RIVM) said in 2024 that the legal 2035 target for nitrogen-sensitive nature could not be met under current policy. By September 2026 a voluntary livestock buyout scheme had 279 finalised files.
CIHEAM Bari and Italian state funding
CIHEAM Bari, the Italian institute of an intergovernmental Mediterranean agronomic organisation, is funded mainly by the Italian state. The cited sources show extensive counted activity, mostly self-reported, and thin independent measurement of field effects.
Rafsanjan pistachio plain: aquifer decline, subsidence and export revenue
The water table of the Rafsanjan plain in Kerman Province fell about 17 m between 1983 and 2017, and satellite studies measured subsidence of 30 cm per year or more. Iran reported pistachio exports of US$614 million in the first seven Iranian months of 2024.
Garagum Canal and Amu Darya: conveyance losses, salinisation and the money around them
The Garagum (Karakum) Canal takes 10–12 km³ a year from the Amu Darya, and FAO recorded conveyance losses of more than 30% of intake since 2000. FAO gave the direct economic loss from salinised land at USD 142 million for 2001; a South Korean builder signed a memorandum on modernising a 250 km section in September 2026.
Zayandeh Rud and the Gavkhouni wetland: water transfers and farmers' protests in Isfahan
The Zayandeh Rud, which runs through Isfahan to the Gavkhouni wetland, has been dry in its lower reach for long periods since about 2000. The wetland's legal water right of 176 million m³ a year was approved by the Supreme Water Council and never implemented, according to Mehr.
Green tobacco sickness in Rio Grande do Sul and tobacco curing deforestation
Two reported harms of tobacco growing: nicotine poisoning among small farmers in southern Brazil, and wood burned to cure tobacco leaf in Africa. The cited sources give a prevalence figure for the first and an annual wood figure for the second; neither has been independently verified here.
Gates holds about 275,000 acres of US farmland in 17 states
Bill Gates's investment group holds about 275,000 acres of US farmland in 17 states through Cascade and Cottonwood Ag Management, according to The Land Report and Entrepreneur. At stake for nature is which land use the holdings support, which the cited sources do not establish.
City of Greater Geraldton ends food-organics kerbside trial
The City of Greater Geraldton ended its food-organics kerbside collection trial in June 2024, reporting contamination of 18% and participation of 58%. The contamination figure bears on whether food scraps collected at the kerb can be composted cleanly.