Brazil’s Environmental Protection Agency imposed $64 million in fines on 23 meat processing companies and their suppliers for buying and selling livestock illegally raised on the deforested Brazilian Amazon.
Operation Cold Meat 2, launched last week, tracked 18,000 head of cattle raised on pastures banned for commercial use due to illegal deforestation.
Cattle ranching is the main driver of deforestation in the Amazon. 90 per cent of the total area cleared between 1985 and 2023 was converted to pasture. Jair Schmitt, chief of environmental protection at Brazil’s federal environmental agency Ibama, said:
We are inspecting the production chain to hold offenders accountable for acquiring products from deforestation and to ensure that crime does not pay.
Among those fined was JBS, the world’s largest meat packing company. It had also applied to list on the New York Stock Exchange, which prompted opposition from some US lawmakers and environmental non-profit organisations. The fine reportedly totalled $108,000 for the purchase of 1,231 head of cattle.
The operation followed a three-month investigation by Ibama. However, JBS denied buying cattle from embargoed areas. The company also said it had already provided Ibama with documents confirming the legal origin of the livestock.
JBS has maintained its Responsible Procurement Policy for 15 years and has a geospatial monitoring system in place to ensure that the company does not purchase animals from farms involved in illegal deforestation, encroachment on Indigenous lands or conservation areas that are under embargo by Ibama.
Agropam, a meat processing company from the municipality of Boca do Acre, suffered the largest fine of $493,000 for buying 5,624 cattle from illegal areas. Other companies that came under suspicion included Mafrico, Frigol and 163 Beef.
