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3w ago

Reuters Links Diamond Green Diesel’s Tallow Supply to Amazon Deforestation

Byproduct treatment kept tallow origins untraced under schemes that grant airline emissions credits.

A drone view of Diamond Green Diesel, LLC, a joint venture between Valero Energy Corporation and Darling Ingredients Inc., in Port Arthur, Texas, U.S., July 30, 2025. REUTERS/Adrees Latif/File Photo
Deforestation seen in Guajará-Mirim State Park in Brazil's Rondônia state.

Overview

  • A Reuters investigation with Reporter Brasil found that at least two Brazilian rendering plants supplying Diamond Green Diesel since 2023 sourced fat from slaughterhouses that bought cattle from illegally deforested Amazon ranches.
  • The Araguaia plant in Pará drew from five meatpackers that failed a May 2025 federal audit for slaughtering 20,000 cattle from illegal areas and exported tallow to the Port Arthur, Texas refinery, according to trade data.
  • Diamond Green Diesel’s imports were certified by ISCC for the UN’s CORSIA program, and ISCC said it did not trace tallow origins because it is treated as a byproduct; ICAO said it monitors certifiers and welcomes evidence for review.
  • Diamond Green Diesel, Darling Ingredients, Valero Energy, Southwest Airlines, and JetBlue did not respond to detailed questions, and Reuters could not determine what share of the refinery’s total tallow came from illegally cleared lands.
  • The refinery has taken in tens of thousands of tons of Brazilian tallow and has received more than $3 billion in U.S. biofuel tax credits since 2022 as government incentives spur demand for sustainable aviation fuel.