Coffee demand in Sweden has a greater impact on Amazon deforestation than beef

Daily consumer choices in Europe have a significant impact on the condition of Brazil’s tropical forests. However, this impact is not always easy to predict. In Sweden, the greatest burden turns out to be a passion for coffee – the cost of an aromatic cup could be measured in lost trees.

Amazon Footprint Report 2025

Experts from Chalmers University of Technology, the Stockholm Environment Institute and WWF have prepared a comprehensive report on the factors responsible for Amazon deforestation. The analysis combines satellite imagery with agricultural production data and global consumption models. According to the authors, it is the first study of its kind in such detail.

The scientists examined which consumer choices contribute the most to the devastation of the world’s green lungs. They considered entire supply chains, distinguishing between the impact of local consumption and that of global consumption.

Soy and beef as global drivers of deforestation

Worldwide, the most serious threat to the Amazon is the demand for beef and cowhides. The expansion of pastures has slowed over the past two decades, but still remains at 1.4 million hectares per year. Unfortunately, degraded pastures are rarely designated for reforestation – far more often they are converted into cropland.

The second most important factor behind Amazon deforestation is soybean cultivation. Of the 8.6 million hectares of forests destroyed between 2018 and 2022, 78 percent was due to beef production and almost 5 percent to soybean cultivation. Other crops competing with the biodiversity of tropical forests include sorghum, rice, palm oil, coffee and cocoa. The latter are grown mainly in Peru and Ecuador, while in the Brazilian Amazon the main pressure remains cattle farming.

Coffee under scrutiny: Swedish choices and the forests

The report’s authors took a closer look at domestic consumption and reached surprising conclusions. The total amount of coffee consumed by Swedes in 2022 had a greater impact on deforestation than national beef or soybean consumption. The passion for espresso and cappuccino cost exactly 331 hectares of the Amazon – the equivalent of 463 football fields.

Globally, much attention is devoted to the impact of soy production and livestock farming on deforestation, so coffee consumption may have flown somewhat under the radar until now, says Martin Persson, one of the report’s authors.

Indeed, Swedes are among Europe’s top coffee consumers – averaging 12.3 kg per capita per year (according to World Population Review data for 2022). Lithuanians (16.8 kg), Estonians (17.5 kg) and Luxembourgers (22.2 kg) drink even more.

Not all coffee is equal: what changes with the EUDR?

The authors of the Amazon Footprint Report note that coffee’s impact on deforestation depends on the origin of the beans. The EU’s EUDR (EU Deforestation Regulation) aims to limit the placing on the EU market of products whose production is linked to forest destruction. It was originally due to take effect on 30 December 2025, but last Wednesday the European Parliament decided to postpone it by another year.
Around 100 trees are cut or burned every minute to satisfy Europe’s demand for coffee, cocoa, beef and other products, reminded German S&D MEP Delara Burkhardt, calling for the regulation to be introduced as soon as possible.