Getty ImagesBy Esme Stallard and Leandro PrazeresBBC News and BBC BrasilBeef production by three of the world’s biggest meatpackers has been linked to illegal deforestation in Brazil’s Cerrado, according to campaigners.The savannah, which featured in Planet Earth III, hosts 5% of Earth’s species and is a buffer against global warming.In one part of the Cerrado, nearly half of the farms supplying the companies had cut down trees, the Global Witness investigation suggests.The companies, JBS, Minerva and Marfrig said they acted in line with local law.The Cerrado sits next to the Amazon but unlike its neighbouring habitat has not been afforded the same protections. An upcoming EU law to reduce the import of products from deforested land does not include much of the Cerrado, as it is not considered a forest under the legislation. In the last year the rate of deforestation in the Amazon has halved whilst in the Cerrado it surged by 43% according to data from Brazilian space agency Inpe. Simon Roach, senior investigative journalist from Global Witness, told the BBC: “Everyone knows that the Amazon is in crisis and it rightly has had attention from lawmakers and the public, but next door you have this very important ecosystem that has not been protected to the same extent.”World leaders promise to end deforestation by 2030Eating less meat ‘like taking 8m cars off road’The Cerrado savannah is described by Sir David Attenborough in the BBC documentary series Planet Earth III as a “grassland paradise”. It covers nearly a fifth of Brazil’s territory and hosts 5% of the world’s species, including more than 6,000 types of tree.It is also a vital store of planet-warming carbon – it is estimated it holds 13.7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, which is more than China released last year. For decades it has suffered deforestation, as land is cleared for agriculture and mining. But a new investigation from international environmental and human rights charity Global Witness, and exclusively shared with the BBC, reveals the extent to which this Cerrado deforestation is illegal and is being driven by the cattle trade. Although the Cerrado extends across 11 states the researchers focused their efforts on Mato Grosso – as it has the country’s largest cattle herd and contains parts of both the Cerrado and the Amazon.The three biggest meatpackers operating here are JBS, Minerva and Marfrig – who supply meat to the world and collectively turned over $98.15bn (£78.2bn) in 2022. Each animal slaughtered by the meatpackers has a transfer permit detailing which farm in Mato Grosso they are brought from. The most recent permits available are from 2019.The researchers looked at the permits and then used satellite data to see whether there had been deforestation at those farms over the preceding 11 years. Global Witness estimate that between 2008 and 2019 an area of forest bigger than Chicago was felled within ranches supplying the three beef firms across Mato Grosso. And for those farms based in the Cerrado 42% had suffered deforestation.Deforestation is allowed under a state permit but Global Witness found permits covered only 1% of the land deforested, suggesting the majority was illegal.Dr Viola Heinrich, a post doctoral researcher in climate science at Potsdam University, who was not involved in the study, said the figures may be higher. The researchers only counted deforestation that was bigger than or equal to 6.27 ha (15.5 acres) – as this is what the state will prosecute. When asked about the findings Marfrig said that “it does not acquire animals from deforested areas” and that all of its supplies must meet the Brazilian Federal Prosecutor’s deforestation rules.JBS also made this point and said it had already removed 14% of the farms in Global Witness’ analysis for non-compliance. Minerva said there is no illegal deforestation in its supply chains.Brazilian officials have said that tackling deforestation in the Cerrado is particularly difficult beca …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnGetty ImagesBy Esme Stallard and Leandro PrazeresBBC News and BBC BrasilBeef production by three of the world’s biggest meatpackers has been linked to illegal deforestation in Brazil’s Cerrado, according to campaigners.The savannah, which featured in Planet Earth III, hosts 5% of Earth’s species and is a buffer against global warming.In one part of the Cerrado, nearly half of the farms supplying the companies had cut down trees, the Global Witness investigation suggests.The companies, JBS, Minerva and Marfrig said they acted in line with local law.The Cerrado sits next to the Amazon but unlike its neighbouring habitat has not been afforded the same protections. An upcoming EU law to reduce the import of products from deforested land does not include much of the Cerrado, as it is not considered a forest under the legislation. In the last year the rate of deforestation in the Amazon has halved whilst in the Cerrado it surged by 43% according to data from Brazilian space agency Inpe. Simon Roach, senior investigative journalist from Global Witness, told the BBC: “Everyone knows that the Amazon is in crisis and it rightly has had attention from lawmakers and the public, but next door you have this very important ecosystem that has not been protected to the same extent.”World leaders promise to end deforestation by 2030Eating less meat ‘like taking 8m cars off road’The Cerrado savannah is described by Sir David Attenborough in the BBC documentary series Planet Earth III as a “grassland paradise”. It covers nearly a fifth of Brazil’s territory and hosts 5% of the world’s species, including more than 6,000 types of tree.It is also a vital store of planet-warming carbon – it is estimated it holds 13.7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, which is more than China released last year. For decades it has suffered deforestation, as land is cleared for agriculture and mining. But a new investigation from international environmental and human rights charity Global Witness, and exclusively shared with the BBC, reveals the extent to which this Cerrado deforestation is illegal and is being driven by the cattle trade. Although the Cerrado extends across 11 states the researchers focused their efforts on Mato Grosso – as it has the country’s largest cattle herd and contains parts of both the Cerrado and the Amazon.The three biggest meatpackers operating here are JBS, Minerva and Marfrig – who supply meat to the world and collectively turned over $98.15bn (£78.2bn) in 2022. Each animal slaughtered by the meatpackers has a transfer permit detailing which farm in Mato Grosso they are brought from. The most recent permits available are from 2019.The researchers looked at the permits and then used satellite data to see whether there had been deforestation at those farms over the preceding 11 years. Global Witness estimate that between 2008 and 2019 an area of forest bigger than Chicago was felled within ranches supplying the three beef firms across Mato Grosso. And for those farms based in the Cerrado 42% had suffered deforestation.Deforestation is allowed under a state permit but Global Witness found permits covered only 1% of the land deforested, suggesting the majority was illegal.Dr Viola Heinrich, a post doctoral researcher in climate science at Potsdam University, who was not involved in the study, said the figures may be higher. The researchers only counted deforestation that was bigger than or equal to 6.27 ha (15.5 acres) – as this is what the state will prosecute. When asked about the findings Marfrig said that “it does not acquire animals from deforested areas” and that all of its supplies must meet the Brazilian Federal Prosecutor’s deforestation rules.JBS also made this point and said it had already removed 14% of the farms in Global Witness’ analysis for non-compliance. Minerva said there is no illegal deforestation in its supply chains.Brazilian officials have said that tackling deforestation in the Cerrado is particularly difficult beca …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
