Rice, corn, and cassava — three of the world’s main staple foods — were responsible for about 11% of global deforestation between 2001 and 2022, surpassing crops such as cacao, coffee, and rubber. The conclusion comes from a study published in the scientific journal Nature Food.
The investigation analyzed deforestation linked to agriculture over two decades and concludes that these food crops, often absent from the center of the environmental debate, should be considered in global strategies to combat forest loss.
121 million hectares lost in two decades
Agriculture is widely recognized as one of the main drivers of deforestation. However, international efforts have focused mainly on the production of beef, palm oil, soy, rubber, cacao, and coffee.
To overcome previous limitations — such as geographically restricted data or unable to capture complex land-use dynamics — researchers Chandrakant Singh and Martin Persson developed the DeDuCE model (Deforestation Driver and Carbon Emissions). The system combines satellite data on forest cover loss with spatial agricultural information and statistics relating to 184 food products in 179 countries.
According to the results, between 2001 and 2022, 121 million hectares of forest were lost due to the expansion of agricultural lands, pastures, and forestry plantations. This land-use transformation generated emissions estimated at 41.2 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide.
Pasture expansion accounted for 42% of deforestation and 52% of the associated carbon emissions.
Impact distributed on a global scale
Unlike other crops whose production — and resulting deforestation — concentrates in specific regions, such as palm oil in Southeast Asia or soy in South America, the impact of staple foods is distributed relatively evenly across the planet.
This geographic dispersion makes it difficult to identify “critical points” and suggests that deforestation-reduction policies should also integrate staple food systems, often associated with food security and domestic consumption.
The authors argue that the results can help improve national greenhouse gas emission inventories and support the development of more effective regulatory frameworks. The study also highlights differences in the quality of statistical and spatial data available depending on the regions and products analyzed.
The research reinforces the need for a more comprehensive approach to agricultural supply chains, at a time when governments and companies seek to meet climate targets and zero-deforestation commitments.
