In the Name of Progress: how soya is destroying the Amazon rainforest

Soya farming is chewing up the Amazon rainforest at unprecedented rates as huge areas are cleared to make way for massive monoculture plantations. In the Name of Progress, a film produced by Greenpeace, illustrates the devastating effects that the booming soya market is having on the world's largest remaining rainforest.

The impact is huge, not only on the plants and animals that make up the forest itself but also on the communities that live there. Watch the 15-minute film to see how the soya plantations have brought wealth and prosperity for a small few, but driven many into poverty.

It also documents the illegal port built in the heart of the Amazon by agribusiness giant Cargill just to handle the vast quantities of soya being shipped out from the region. Soya exported by Cargill goes directly to Europe to feed the chickens found in fast food retailers like McDonald's and supermarkets across Europe.

You can download the film but due to the nature of the film, we are only able to offer it in high resolution suitable for broadband users. Those on a dial-up connection may experience difficulty in watching the film.

Watch in Windows Media (15 mins, 51Mb) | Get Windows Media

Watch in Quicktime (15 mins, 104Mb) | Get Quicktime