In February 2026, the KnowTheChain Project published its latest food and beverage benchmark, the Business and Human Rights Centre's analysis of the world’s largest companies which revealed an industry dangerously unprepared to confront climate-exacerbated forced labour risks across its supply chains.

To understand how corporate failures translate into real-world harm, KnowTheChain partnered with Articulation of Rural Employees of the State of Minas Gerais (ADERE-MG) to investigate conditions on Brazilian coffee plantations. Indicators of forced labour were found in every interview conducted. Workers described abusive recruitment practices, degrading living conditions and a near total lack of transparency about who buys the coffee they harvest – making remedy virtually impossible. While some plantations were sanctioned by Brazilian labour authorities during the 2025 harvest, many more instances of forced labour and exploitation go undetected and unremedied owing to a lack of enforcement resources and brand inaction.

The benchmark and study garnered attention from coffee industry representatives, National Coffee Council, the Brazilian government and other stakeholders. In light of statements published (and attached below) from government and industry, Articulação dos Empregados Rurais do Estado de Minas Gerais (ADERE- MG) published a statement to highlight the continued struggle to free Brazil's coffee sector from forced labour. A statement attributed to Business and Human Rights Centre is also linked below.