RAN Responds to Cargill’s Forest Pledge

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, September 23rd, 2014

CONTACT: Laurel Sutherlin, 415.246.0161 Laurel@ran.org | Bill Barclay, 415. 659. 0512 BBarclay@ran.org

The following is a statement from Rainforest Action Network Executive Director Lindsey Allen in response to the pledge today by Cargill CEO Dave MacLennan to protect forests in all of Cargill’s agricultural supply chains and to endorse The New York Declaration on Forests.

“Today’s deforestation pledge by Cargill’s CEO is a welcome commitment and marks an important new course for the company. Rainforest Action Network has been actively pressuring Cargill for the last seven years on deforestation issues and human rights abuses in its supply chain, and these issues have been of growing concern for many of Cargill’s biggest food manufacturer clients as well. RAN looks forward to opportunities to engage with Cargill as they move forward over the next few months to translate this pledge into effective policies – and then to implement these reforms within Cargill’s daily operations in order to bring this pledge to life.

“Commodity supply chain practices are key drivers of the planetary crises we are now facing. RAN will continue to pressure Cargill to turn this promising pledge into practice and move quickly to implement traceable, transparent and accountable supply chain innovations that can serve people and the planet and set a true leadership benchmark for other companies to follow. We are not there yet, and there is no time to waste, but this is definitely a moment for cautious optimism.”