Brazilian banks have created new rules for releasing credit to meatpackers and slaughterhouses in Amazonian states in which their clients must implement traceability and monitoring systems by 2025 to show that their cattle didn’t come from illegal deforestation. Even the powerful Brazilian Agriculture and Livestock Confederation (CNA) recognizes the cattle tracking demand and proposes a […]
for cattle purchase. The meat industry expects to conduct an in-depth check of the cattle it buys in the Amazon with the initiative, ensuring that animals raised on illegally deforested farms, on grabbed lands or with the exploitation of workers don’t enter slaughterhouses.
Of the 39 beef companies associated with ABIEC, 16 have already signed the protocol, including the country’s three largest meatpackers — JBS, Minerva and Marfrig. According to Imaflora, the goal is to have all 39 companies in the agreement within two years, guaranteeing the beef’s lawful origin on 98% of Brazilian exports.
“The CNA has shown that it is being pressured, but I don’t think it will be able to solve the problem with the necessary urgency,” Pedro Burnier, a member of the NGO Amigos da Terra and coordinator of the Indirect Supplier Work Group, told Mongabay by phone. “Farmers aren’t in such a hurry because most of the meat is produced in the country, which makes international pressure relative.”
The ideal model for guaranteeing complete tracking of the beef supply chain would be individual traceability since birth, adopted by Australia, Uruguay, Argentina and other meat exporting countries. Usually, this is a GPS-enabled ear tag with a chip storing information on the animal’s origin and transport history.
“Individually chipping 100% of the herd is a long-term solution, which in the future should become a market requirement. But that may take a while, so we need to look for alternatives to reduce deforestation linked to cattle ranching in the Brazilian Amazon now,” said Burnier, who is working to unite different links in the meat chain to find traceability solutions.
It’s a delicate process. Cattle farmers and even the agriculture ministry resist using the GTA, arguing that animal transport guides should only be used for health purposes, not environmental traceability mechanisms. There are additional difficulties. Each Brazilian state has its own GTA database that is usually kept secret because data protection laws limit transparency and the possibility of integration with other information banks.
Experts also say partial traceability could be achieved with a centralized, transparent and up-to-date traceability platform maintained by the federal government, combining information from different agencies. “The government needs to know who it will serve. The ministry of agriculture is under much pressure from the farmers, which means doing nothing toward the environmental side. The government lacks leadership,” Barreto said.Brazil’s Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change told Mongabay by email that the new Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon aims to “develop traceability systems for agricultural products in the Amazon.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Ford introduces first hybrid-powered bakkieFord confirmed the 2025 release of its Plug-in Hybrid Ranger in Australia.
Read more »
‘Lost’ Brazilian holly tree species found again after nearly 200 yearsAfter nearly 200 years without a confirmed sighting, a rare Brazilian tree species called the Pernambuco holly has been found in northeastern Brazil. The team located four trees, two male and two female, in a forest fragment near a sugarcane plantation in the metropolitan region of the city of Recife. The trees live in an […]
Read more »
Meatpacking giant and Amazon deforester JBS bid for NYSE listing challengedEnvironmental groups have filed complaints with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against Brazilian meat-processing company JBS’s bid to list on the New York Stock Exchange by the end of the year. JBS, the number one beef producer in Brazil, and among the top three meat processors in the United States, has been implicated in […]
Read more »
São Paulo Indigenous community pins its territorial hopes on a new villageMembers of São Paulo’s Jaraguá Guarani Indigenous community have founded a new village on land they claim is ancestrally theirs. The Guarani are seeking recognition from the Brazilian government for a total of 532 hectares (1,315 acres) of land in the São Paulo area that’s home to some 800 Indigenous people. But a bill working […]
Read more »
Springboks still on track to win World Cup: NienaberSouth Africa's lack of accuracy close to the Ireland tryline and off the kicking tee were major contributors to their epic 13-8 loss in a Rugby World Cup Pool B showdown on Saturday but the belief that they can win the World Cup still burns bright.
Read more »
Liverpool get title charge on track, Newcastle make historyLiverpool climbed to second spot on the Premier League table with victory over West Ham United in Sunday's action.
Read more »