The soya industry agreed to a two-year moratorium on growing crops in deforested land in Brazil’s Amazon region.

"This is an important step as this is the first time we've had the multinationals and the Brazilians sit down and talk about environmental issues. But it will only prove to be a major breakthrough if real action is taken on the ground," said John Sauven, a campaign director at Greenpeace.

Soya production is the leading cause for deforestation in "the most concentrated area of biodiversity on the planet."

Father Edilberto Sena, a Catholic anti-soya campaigner whose life has been threatened because of his activism, described the difference between how multinational companies and much of vivil society views the crop.

"They see the soya as a commodity, but we see it as the death of the forest," said Father Edilberto.