Brazilian government seeks millions in environmental damages from giant meat processing plants

Brazilian authorities are seeking millions of dollars in damages and fines from the world’s largest meat processor JBS and three smaller slaughterhouses, court documents show, accusing the abattoirs of buying meat raised on illegally logged land in the Amazon rainforest. ox.

The lawsuits come as JBS seeks to list on the New York Stock Exchange, which would give the company access to more capital. They are expected to increase pressure on the company, which was recently the subject of a Senate hearing over links to deforestation in its supply chain. The United States is JBS’s largest market.

The 17 lawsuits filed in Ronnia state in the west of the country allege that the companies purchased cattle raised in the Jesse-Paran extractive reserve, one of the most damaged reserves in the Amazon, which has been 77% of forest cover has been lost since implementation. The reserve was established in 1996. Dozens of members of the local traditional community left, fearing land grabbers and ranchers had taken over much of the reserve.

JBS is the largest purchaser of cattle in the Amazon rainforest, where experts say ranching is the biggest driver of deforestation. Deforestation coupled with climate change has converted moist ecosystems that store large amounts of global warming gases into drier areas, releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The result is a double whammy for efforts to combat climate change and biodiversity loss.

A 2021 New York Times investigation found that leather from cattle raised by Jaci-Paran was used in seats in pickup trucks, SUVs and other vehicles sold by some of the world’s largest automakers. JBS is a major supplier of leather. At the time, the company disputed allegations that it purchased cattle raised on land that had been illegally deforested.

JBS said in a statement on Wednesday that it operates a robust surveillance system in Brazil covering an area three times the size of the UK to ensure its suppliers do not occupy any area illegally. JBS is committed to building a sustainable beef supply chain, the company said.

Three of the 17 lawsuits, first reported by The Associated Press and Agncia Pblica, were filed against JBS and a group of farmers accused of selling cattle raised by the company on reserves farms. Other lawsuits target three smaller meatpackers accused of buying hundreds of cattle raised on the reserve.

Authorities in Ronnia state said farmers sold 227 cattle raised on about 1,000 acres of illegally cleared forest to JBS between 2019 and 2021. The state is seeking nearly $3.5 million in damages from the company and farmers. It also fined JBS more than $400,000, although those fines may be challenged in court. Lawyers for the state did not respond to requests for comment.

JBS has made some progress toward compliance in recent years, and in 2009 federal prosecutors in Pa. filed a lawsuit seeking compensation for environmental damage from a group of meatpackers. Prosecutors did not win the case but subsequently developed a plan to audit cattle purchases.

An audit of cattle purchased by JBS in Par found 6% came from so-called irregular pastures, a sharp drop from 2020, when an audit found 32% of animals came from irregular sources. The same audit in Rondnia this year found that 12 per cent of cattle purchased by JBS did not comply with the law.

Under President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva, deforestation rates in Brazil’s rainforest regions have fallen to their lowest level in five years over the past 12 months.

Paulo Barreto, a researcher focusing on the cattle industry at Imazon, a non-profit research organization based in Belm, Brazil, said there are signs that the situation is improving. But he added that change could not come fast enough.

Governments come and go, so it’s important for businesses to make stronger commitments to signal to politicians that things won’t go back to the way they were before, he said.

Barreto said lawsuits seeking to hold meatpackers accountable for deforestation are rare. This is partly because buying cattle raised on illegally deforested land is often difficult to track; a Times investigation found that they use middlemen to produce documents proving the animals come from legal farms.

Federal prosecutor Daniel Azeredo, who has been investigating the cattle industry for more than a decade, said the Ronia lawsuit reinforced the need for improved traceability in the country. Without this, he added, we would continue to have the same problems.

According to documents filed last week, Pedro Silas Carvalho, a judge in the state of Ronnia, expressed doubts about the government’s lawsuit. He wrote that state prosecutors need to consider the economic impact of their actions because illegal farmers’ withdrawal from protected areas could result in lost revenue. The Times was unable to reach Judge Silas Carvalho for comment.