$89-billion snacking giant Mondelēz International has been urging the EU to delay implementation of its landmark European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) by 12 months. The regulation is set to come into effect in December after having already been postponed.
Under the EUDR, companies will have to demonstrate that the products they’re marketing in Europe are free from deforestation-related impacts. Mondelēz products, including Oreo and Cadbury, fall under this directive because they contain forest-risk commodities like cocoa and palm oil.
Mondelēz is pushing for another year-long extension of the EUDR because it maintains that cocoa smallholders in West Africa aren’t ready to comply with the law, meaning that a sector already struggling with supply shocks could experience more bottlenecks and price increases, further decreasing Mondelēz’ profits.
Mondelēz’ appeal to smallholders is eerily similar to efforts by the palm oil industry to water down the EUDR by creating exemptions for palm oil smallholders in Indonesia, who they maintain are unable to comply with the law.
The problem with these loopholes is that smallholder deforestation is actually a major contributor to Indonesia’s overall deforestation numbers. Smallholder deforestation is even driving the destruction of critical landscapes like Sumatra’s Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, the so-called Orangutan Capital of the World.
The smallholders behind this destruction are not small family farms, either—they’re local elites who abuse their political influence to set up mini corporate-style plantations, complete with heavy machinery and managers, inside protected rainforests and peatlands.
While the EUDR does do a poor job of addressing the needs of smallholders more generally, the European Union and big industry players should step in and help them reach compliance. Efforts to delay or water down the EUDR using smallholders as an excuse should be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Curiously, major Mondelēz competitors Nestlé, Danone and Ferrero have not bought into the smallholder hype and remain committed to the EUDR’s December 2025 deadline.
If Mondelēz actually takes its own zero-deforestation commitments seriously, it will stop with the smallholder charade and get fully behind the most consequential anti-deforestation regulation of our generation. The planet cannot wait.
