Technopolitics of Sustainability: a comparative analysis of “deforestation-free” soy in Brazil

Abstract

Over the past decades, Brazil’s soy supply chain has come under increasing pressure from international markets and civil society. These critiques, along with the emergence of import control mechanisms, have encouraged the development of new forms of governance and products that incorporate promises of greater responsibility and transparency in supply chains. Among these, we highlight “deforestation-free” soy as a proposed solution promoted by agribusiness actors, claiming to address the main environmental challenges faced by the sector in Brazil. Drawing on insights from Science and Technology Studies (STS) and agri-food studies, we argue that the ways in which corporations formulate and communicate their initiatives reveal how they perceive (and construct) environmental problems as objects of intervention. This paper aims to compare “deforestation-free” and/or “responsible” soy initiatives within the main corporate environmental governance arrangements in Brazil, examining the assessment standards and definitions used, as well as the measurement infrastructures that certify non-deforestation. The analysis is based on public protocols, sourcing policies, and ESG reports from major soy trading companies operating in Brazil. We argue that “deforestation-free” soy functions as a producer of technopower within the soy chain, legitimizing corporate sustainability claims and promoting scalable solutions that align with agribusiness interests. The article thus contributes to understanding how Brazilian agribusiness responds to environmental pressures through technopolitical solutions that reshape power dynamics in the sector.