Post by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

It’s official - scientists have developed a tool that could help tackle a MAJOR cause of global deforestation 🫛🌎 Soy: a tiny bean with a BIG environmental impact. It’s a key driver of forest loss across South America, fuelled by global demand for animal feed. Now, our scientists and partners have unveiled a breakthrough tool that can estimate where soybeans are grown within around 200 km - a major step forward for tackling one of the world’s biggest drivers of tropical deforestation. By combining chemical fingerprinting with machine learning, we can now help verify whether origin claims are consistent with deforestation-free sourcing. This strengthens the ability of regulators and businesses to hold supply chains accountable. Developed alongside World Forest ID and the University of Sheffield, this innovation could also be applied to other high-risk commodities like cocoa, timber and palm oil, helping protect forests on a global scale 🌍 Read the paper published in a Nature journal👇 https://ow.ly/GYfh50YKOgx