A powerful message has been painted across one of South America’s busiest thoroughfares: a 17,000 square foot mural in Sao Paulo demands that the billionaire Cargill-MacMillan family end their company’s role in the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.
Cargill, the largest privately owned company in the U.S. and the world’s leading agricultural giant, has been repeatedly criticized for its contribution to deforestation, displacement of Indigenous communities, and human rights abuses. The Cargill-MacMillan family, boasting a collective net worth exceeding $60 billion, faces increasing pressure to address the environmental havoc wrought by their company.
The mural, a collaboration between famed Brazilian street artist Mundano and the Burning Legacy Campaign at Stand.earth, is a stark symbol of the crisis gripping the region. It was painted with the ashes of forests cleared for Cargill’s plantations and mud from the devastating floods that have ravaged southern Brazil, exacerbated by deforestation and climate change. This summer has seen some of the worst wildfires in South America’s history, many intentionally set to clear land for industrial agriculture.
The artwork vividly captures the devastation inflicted by Cargill’s practices, highlighting the resilience of Indigenous communities who are fighting on the frontlines of this environmental battle. Approximately 20 organizations have joined a letter urging the Cargill-MacMillan family to eliminate human rights abuses and deforestation throughout Cargill’s supply chain.
While Cargill pledged in November 2023 to eliminate deforestation from its supply chain in Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay by 2025, the company’s history of broken promises casts doubt on its commitment.
Muralist Mundano, referring to the devastating environmental consequences of corporate greed, declared, “My country has been swallowed up by the smoke of greed.” He challenged the Cargill-MacMillans to choose a legacy of change and protection, urging them to be a driving force behind global environmental action.
Stand.earth plans to escalate its campaign, delivering posters created by Indigenous leaders and villagers with Mundano directly to the Cargill-MacMillan family. The posters, emblazoned with the ashes of the mural, bear the poignant message: “Keep Your Promise – Stop the Destruction.”
Mathew Jacobson, Burning Legacy Director at Stand.earth, emphasizes that the Cargill-MacMillans cannot evade responsibility for their company’s actions. “As the owners of Cargill, they bear the ultimate responsibility for its actions. They must decide now whether their family legacy will be one of changing course and protecting our planet or contributing to its demise.”
Beyond deforestation for plantations, Cargill is pushing for the construction of the Ferrogrão mega-railway, a project that would further decimate the Amazon rainforest. This 600-mile railway, aiming to transport grain for export to China and Europe, would cut through the heart of the Amazon, driving an estimated 500,000 acres of deforestation. Currently suspended by Brazil’s Supreme Court, the project has been condemned for its potential to violate Indigenous and local communities’ rights without their consent.
Pedro Charbel, Brazil campaigns advisor at Amazon Watch, highlights the project’s detrimental impact, stating, “To boost their profits, Cargill’s reckless push to build the Ferrogrão mega-railway would sacrifice the Amazon and the Cerrado, violating indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ rights. This mega-project to further expand soy and corn production is the antithesis of the company’s commitment to eliminate deforestation. The Cargill-MacMillans must renounce Cargill’s support for Ferrogrão, definitively halting its advancement.”
The mural serves as a powerful call to action, urging the Cargill-MacMillan family to honor their promises and prioritize the protection of the Amazon and its people. The fight for the rainforest’s future depends on their commitment to change.
