A Voyage to the Cane Sugar and Palm Oil Plantations of Brazil

About the author: Jyoti Stephens is the Director of Human Resources and Sustainability at Nature’s Path Foods. She is also the daughter of our founder.

Earlier this month, Dag Falck and I headed to Brazil to visit one of the plantations where Nature’s Path sources cane sugar and the plantation where we source our palm oil from.

We wanted to learn more about their environmental stewardship practices and commitment to social responsibility. We also wanted to get some input on a sustainable supply chain questionnaire that we’re in the process of developing.

The following segment is part 1 in a series of 3 that chronicles our experiences.

Over the Atlantic Ocean.

Dag Falck is the Nature’s Path Organic Program Manager. Read his bio on the Non-GMO Project website.

First stop: Ribeirão Preto, a small city west of Sao Paulo.

We drive down the highway, past field after field of sugar cane to the Sao Francisco mill, about ½ hour away from Ribiero Preto. Leontino Balbo, the Commercial Director, gives us an overview of the history of the mill and their Green Cane project. It’s called “Green Cane”, because unlike many other sugar cane growers, they harvest the sugar cane, green leaves and all, rather than burning the folliage around the stalk (which makes cane easier to harvest, but it’s more polluting).

Jyoti Stephens in fields of  green cane. Read more about Jyoti in the Globe and Mail.

Once harvested, the follage around the cane is put back on the soil to act as natural fertilizer and weed control.

Freshly harvested sugar cane.

Leontino, an agronomist by trade, is dedicated to building rich soil teaming with beneficial life. They spread “cane cake”, a byproduct of the manufacturing process, over fields to fertilize and build up the soil.

Leontino Balbo

In fact, since starting these practices, they have increased organic matter in the soil from 1% to 3.5% - the same level of organic matter in the soil found in surrounding forests. Because of this, during years with record rainfall, they have been able to prevent soil erosion.

Young green cane sprouting out from rich healthy soil.

One of the most interesting parts of our visit was learning about their beneficial insect program. Unlike conventional farms that rely on chemical pesticides to control harmful insects, the Green Cane Project has built an “insect army” to deal with the pesky problem.

Through their work in this field, they have learned that it takes about 8 years for nature to create natural homeostasis remedies to pest problems. Once nature creates the solution, the Green Project applies it broadly to pest and plague problems across the plantation.

Moths are one example of pests that destroy sugar cane fields. Since wasps feed on moths, the Green Cane Project breeds 1 million wasps every day!

After the wasps have attacked the catapiller, only the shell remains.

Building an agricultural system that encourages biodiversity is at the heart of The Green Cane Project. Included in this approach is investing in numerous reforestation projects in and around the plantation, with a total result of planting over 1 million trees. Through reforestation initiatives, new permanent streams have emerged, attracting bird and mammal populations.

In my next post, we’ll move from the field to the factory to explore the Green Cane approach to Closed Loop manufacturing.