CJ CheilJedang Declares "Will Not Purchase Amazon Soybeans"

CJ Selecta Declares Amazon Deforestation Halt
Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions to One-Third of Competitors' Average
Continued Environmental Protection Efforts Mark "ESG Management Progress"

CJ Selecta Soybean Farm Landscape

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] CJ CheilJedang has decided not to purchase soybeans cultivated in the Amazon. This is to protect the "lungs of the Earth," the Amazon.

On the 21st, CJ CheilJedang announced that CJ Selecta, a Brazilian concentrated soybean protein producer, declared a "Deforestation-free" policy to minimize Amazon forest destruction. The aim is to prevent ecosystem damage caused by indiscriminate logging or slash-and-burn farming for soybean production and to pursue "ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management" that considers the environment from raw materials onward.

According to this "Deforestation-free" declaration, CJ CheilJedang plans to purchase about 400,000 tons of soybeans from areas outside the Amazon forest region by 2025. This accounts for approximately 25% of the 1.7 million tons of soybeans CJ CheilJedang annually purchases for its food and bio businesses.

CJ CheilJedang has formed a consultative body with major concentrated soybean protein companies in Brazil to implement a "Seed Project," which supports farmers outside the Amazon region in Brazil with seed supply and funding, purchasing all harvested soybeans from them.

Additionally, CJ Selecta is focusing on "carbon reduction" by increasing the use of clean energy and recycling wastewater throughout the entire production process of concentrated soybean protein to combat global warming. They increase the use of eco-friendly fertilizers instead of chemical fertilizers and reduce carbon emissions by using wood chips instead of coal. As a result, the greenhouse gas emissions generated in all production stages?"agriculture, production-processing-storage, and distribution"?have been recorded at less than one-third of the average of three competing Brazilian companies.

A CJ CheilJedang official stated, "With the declaration to stop purchasing soybeans from the Amazon region, we are striving to realize a virtuous cycle of 'Nature to Nature,' returning from nature to the consumer's table and back to nature." They added, "We are fully aware that the entire production process can impact the environment, and we will establish CJ CheilJedang's unique 'environmental management system' to create sincere results."

Meanwhile, CJ Selecta is the world's number one producer of concentrated soybean protein located in Brazil, which accounts for more than one-third of the world's total soybean production. Concentrated soybean protein is a high-protein feed ingredient made from soybean meal produced alongside soybean oil during soybean processing. It is mainly used as an aquaculture feed ingredient and is gaining attention as a future material that can replace traditional fishmeal.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.