December 4, 2021

09:12

Karol Rocha – Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – A study conducted by the environmental agency Stand Earth released on December 2 shows how much the Brazilian leather production is related to the deforestation of the Amazon. Investigations by the Federal Public Ministry in Pará (MPF-PA) confirm that a large part of the cattle from which the product is extracted comes from pastures in deforested areas. The study points out the JBS company as the main supplier of leather to 400 companies manufacturing products that use the material in the international market.

According to the public prosecutor of the MPF of Pará, Ricardo Negrini, the latest audits pointed out problems in cattle purchases by large companies, mainly because they acquire animals from deforested areas. The audits are foreseen in the Conduct Adjustment Terms (TACs) of the livestock chain and in the Green Protocol for Grains.

According to the document, the amount of cattle acquired with evidence of irregularities, that is, raised in deforested areas, totals 31,99%, which corresponds to 300,913 animals acquired. The audits were carried out last year and widely publicized in October.

According to the MPF audit, JBS acquired 285,474 animals from properties with illegal deforestation after 2008 or after the signing of the TAC, and 2,089 animals were acquired from properties overlapping Conservation Units (UCs), Indigenous Lands (TIs) or quilombola territories.

Regularization agreed

“JBS is in the process of correction. We have already made an agreement for it to pay compensation and to make some adjustments in its operations in the state of Pará. The agreements are long-term”, said the prosecutor. Also according to him, the MPF follows the companies through audits and hopes that the next one will have better results.

“When the results are bad, we adopt measures as we did in relation to JBS. Eventually, if we have information about more serious situations, we can take other legal actions in addition to this monitoring we do of the agreements”, said the prosecutor.

The study by the environmental agency Stand Earth showed a map of cattle purchasing zones of 32 JBS factories located in the Brazilian Legal Amazon region in 2016 and their overlap with recently deforested areas. At least 50 brands have supply chain links with Brazil’s largest leather exporter.