Food-systems change is coming to Brazil with the launch of ProVeg Brazil

We are very excited to announce the launch of ProVeg Brazil – our first member of the ProVeg family in South America! ProVeg Brazil is ready and eager to accelerate the growth of plant-based foods in the country. Read on to learn more about their plans!

Brazil – a diverse and multicultural country 

Brazil is one of the world’s largest economies and one of its most populous countries. With a multicultural population of 215 million people, it is also home to a rich diversity of plant and animal species – the Amazon rainforest alone accounts for 10% of all known species on earth. 

This unique biodiversity, fuelled by warm temperatures, generous rainfall patterns, and sunlight throughout the year, also means that Brazilians have year-round access to a diverse selection of vegetables, legumes, and fruits – with plenty of potential for new plant-based alternatives to traditional dishes such as feijoada, moqueca, and coxinha.¹

Accelerating the shift towards plant-based eating

Brazil is increasingly moving towards plant-based diets, with 14% of the population identifying as vegetarian.² However, the country’s role as one of the world’s largest cattle producers and meat exporters cannot be understated, since the size of its factory-farming industry constitutes an existential threat to planetary health.³

Brazil is the world’s third-largest producer of animal meat products.⁴ According to data from environmental NGO Observatório do Clima, food production in Brazil accounted for 74% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2021, with over 78% of those emissions linked to livestock production.⁵

With next year’s edition of the UN Climate Change Conference taking place in the Brazilian city of Belém⁶
– and plant-based diets continuing to grow in popularity in South America – the time is right to harness the plant-based movement’s momentum and spearhead food-systems transformation on the continent.

Meet the ProVeg Brazil’s Director Aline Baroni

Aline Baroni is a journalist with over 15 years’ experience of covering politics, food systems, the environment, and animal rights. She has been working as International Communications Manager and Director of Sinergia Animal for the last four years. Aline lives in her hometown of Curitiba with her family of human and non-human animals. In her free time, she likes to cook (especially Asian dishes), travel, make home-decor plans, and get lost on TikTok.

Plans for the future

ProVeg Brazil will work with policymakers, politicians, and other authorities to promote more plant-forward policies and prepare for next year’s Climate Change Conference (COP30).

A warm welcome to ProVeg Brazil

We’re very happy to see the ProVeg family expanding to Brazil, and are confident that this latest addition will further accelerate the shift to plant-based diets in South America. Having opened ProVeg offices in Nigeria and Malaysia in 2023, we are continuing to accelerate the global shift towards plant-based eating.

You can support ProVeg Brazil by making a recurring donation that will help to drive lasting change in the country.

Marco Mayer

International Communications Assistant

1. WWF UK (2022): Risking the Amazon: why we need immediate action to reduce the tipping point risk. Technical Briefing. Available at: https://www.wwf.de/fileadmin/fm-wwf/Publikationen-PDF/Amazonas/WWF-UK-Technical-Briefing-Risking-the-amazon.pdf. Accessed on 22.04.2024.
2.  Ibope Inteligência (2018): Pesquisa de opinião pública sobre vegetarianismo. Available at: https://old.svb.org.br/images/Documentos/JOB_0416_VEGETARIANISMO.pdf. Accessed on 22.04.2024.
3. Devatha P. Nair (2021): How factory farms in America drive deforestation in Brazil. Sentient Media – Climate. Available at: https://sentientmedia.org/how-factory-farms-in-america-drive-deforestation-in-brazil. Accessed on 10.04.2024.
4. FAO (2023): Crops and livestock products. FAOSTAT. Available at: https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL. Accessed on 23.04.2024
5. Observatório do Clima (2023): Estimativa e emissões de gases do efeito estufa dos sistemas alimentares no Brasil. Available at: https://oc.eco.br/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/SEEG_alimentares.pdf. Accessed on 23.04.2024. 
6. Mia Alberti (2023): Brazil to host COP30 climate summit in the Amazon in 2025. CNN. Available at:  https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/26/americas/brazil-cop30-climate-change-amazon-intl-latam/index.html. Accessed on 24.04.2024.