Food conglomerate Mondelēz International, the owner of chocolate brands Cadbury, Milka, Toblerone and Oreo, has allegedly engaged in an extensive lobbying campaign to weaken and delay enforcement of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), according to new analysis by environmental watchdog Global Witness. Under the EUDR, companies selling to the EU must show their forest products, including cocoa, were not produced on land deforested after Dec. 31, 2020. The law was originally slated to come into force in 2024 but will now be implemented from Dec. 31, 2026. The investigation by NGO Global Witness details how Mondelēz CEO Dirk Van De Put met with Andrew Puzder, the U.S. ambassador to the EU, in Brussels in June — just months before a European Parliament and Council vote that went into force on September 18 on proposed regulatory simplifications. Puzder is a close ally of Trump; both are openly critical of the EUDR, according to the NGO. Global Witness reports that Mondelēz met Puzder in the headquarters of the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU. Mondelēz previously supported due diligence rules and no delay of the EUDR as part of the EU Cocoa Coalition alongside chocolate giants, including Mars, Ferrero and Nestle. However, the company broke ranks with peers in July 2025 to call for a 12-month delay. The NGO says this call came a month after a senior Mondelēz representative became a board member of the Chamber. The reporting further details that Mondelēz extensively lobbied Brussels powerbrokers and national governments…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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