Imazon's researcher gives presentation on cattle ranching at a university in China

Under the theme “How can Brazil reduce emissions while strengthening food production - and how might this reinforce China’s long-term food security strategy?”, Paulo Barreto spoke at New York University Shanghai

Text by Paulo Barreto

How can Brazil reduce emissions while strengthening food production—and how can this reinforce China’s long-term food security strategy?

This was the starting point of my presentation at NYU Shanghai. 

The issue is structural. Brazil is a major supplier of beef to China, and livestock is Brazil’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, largely due to deforestation and methane emissions. At the same time, climate change is already affecting production conditions in Brazil through reduced rainfall and higher water deficits. This affects productivity, costs, and supply stability.

The key point is that the solutions to emissions and to food security are aligned.

Evidence from Brazil shows that when deforestation declines, producers increase investment in restoring degraded pasture and improving productivity. Brazil has more than 100 million hectares of degraded pasture, which represents a large reserve of production potential without expanding into forests.

Public policies have played an important role in reducing deforestation. However, sustained progress has depended on stable demand for higher standards.

In this context, China’s role has already been constructive.

Demand for higher-quality beef—such as animals under 30 months—has been associated with price premiums and changes in production practices. Producers supplying this segment invested more in pasture recovery, improved genetics, and feed supplementation. Productivity gains followed, including higher carcass weights. There is also evidence of regional effects, with stronger adoption of these practices in areas connected to export supply chains.

This experience illustrates how demand for quality can support efficiency gains and better land use, without framing the issue as a constraint on supply.

There is a pragmatic way to continue progress.

Strengthening signals that value consistency, quality, and reliability in supply can reinforce ongoing improvements in productivity and land use efficiency. This contributes to more stable production conditions over time, which is aligned with long-term food security objectives.

In parallel, greater transparency in supply chains helps reduce operational and reputational risks. Tools such as Radar Verde provide information that can support decision-making by identifying companies and regions that are advancing in productivity and land management.

The conclusion is that improving the performance of existing production areas—rather than expanding into new ones—offers a pathway to increase supply reliability, reduce emissions, and support resilient food systems.

This is not a question of imposing conditions. It is a question of aligning incentives with outcomes that benefit both producers and consumers over the long term.

My presentation was largely based on this report > Lessons from the Expansion of Cattle Ranching in Brazil (2000–2023) for Sustainable and Efficient Production.