Surveys of the Brazilian cattle ranching industry have found that there is still a serious lack of transparency throughout the beef supply chain, including from slaughterhouses and retailers. This means there is little control over where beef comes from, suggesting that much of it could be contributing to illegal deforestation in the Amazon, according to Radar Verde, a cattle monitoring initiative made up of several climate groups. Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of beef, and the Amazon is home to approximately 43% of the country’s cattle herds, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Over a 12-month span, starting last July, the Amazon lost 6,288 square kilometers (2,428 square miles) of forest, according to the country’s national space research institute, INPE. “Companies in the beef chain that have not yet adopted measures to control their direct and indirect suppliers are encouraged to be more responsible, with the risk of being deprived by consumers who increasingly adopt more conscious attitudes regarding the environment,” Radar Verde said in its 2023 report. Cattle become difficult to track when they move between different suppliers without proper documentation. In many cases, the cattle graze on illegally deforested land and then enter legal herds, receiving ear tags and permits as if they’ve been grazing legally. Then they move onto slaughterhouses and supermarkets. Direct suppliers of cattle, or the suppliers who own the cattle last, are easier to track, while indirect suppliers — who own the cattle earlier in their lives — often disappear from…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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