Brazilian Supermarkets Vow To Stop Selling ‘Amazon Meat’
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The main group representing supermarket chains in Brazil has pledged to discontinue sales of meat from cattle raised in the Amazon rainforest, reported the Associated Press, after years of deforestation caused by farmers cutting down trees for pasture.
The main group representing supermarket chains in Brazil has pledged to discontinue sales of meat from cattle raised in the Amazon rainforest, reported the Associated Press, after years of deforestation caused by farmers cutting down trees for pasture.
On Monday, the Brazilian Association of Supermarkets (Abras) signed the agreement with the Federal Public Prosecutor’s office in Brasilia, leading its estimated 2,800 members in adopting best practices for avoiding ‘Amazon Meat’.
According to Brazilian Public Prosecutor Daniel Cesar Azeredo Avelino, as cited by the BBC, the government may also introduce a more transparent labelling system for meat from the Amazon; and make it harder for shops to sell items from producers who ignored the law.
“The agreement foresees a series of specific actions to inform the consumer about the origin of the meat both through the Internet and at the supermarkets,” said Avelino.
Under the deal, supermarkets will reject meat from areas of the Amazon where illegal activities take place, such as illegal logging and invasion of public land, he added.
Expansion of the cattle industry in the Amazon is the single biggest cause of deforestation in the region, according to environmental pressure group Greenpeace. Fortunately however, satellite imagery produced by Brazil’s National Institute of Space Research showed that deforestation in the world’s largest rainforest has slowed significantly, hitting its lowest annual drop in more than two decades last year.
Related: Brazil Boasts Lowest Deforestation Rate In 24 Years Ahead Of Climate Change Talks
Related: Brazil’s Military Race To Protect Amazon Resources
“Over the past several years Brazil has made a huge effort to contain deforestation and the latest figures testify to its success,” said Adalberto Verissimo, a senior researcher at Imazon, an environmental watchdog agency, in a separate interview with AP last November.
[quote]”The numbers disprove the argument that deforestation is necessary for the country’s economy to grow…Deforestation has been dropping steadily for the past four years while the economy has grown.”[/quote]“But the war is far from over. We still have a lot of battles to fight and win,” Verissimo added.
Marcio Astrini, Greenpeace coordinator in the Amazon region, also praised the government’s recent efforts, but warned that “the numbers are still too high for a country that does not have to destroy one single hectare in order to develop.”
Related: Ensuring Sustainable Development Is A Matter Of Human Decency: Jeffrey Sachs
Related: Is The World’s Addiction To Meat Sustainable?
[quote]”The decline in numbers in recent years makes it clear that ending deforestation … is possible. The main strength of this effort comes from a society that no longer tolerates the destruction of forests. That’s what pushes actions of both governments and markets … to eliminate deforestation from its supply chain.”[/quote]Avelino told the BBC that was currently no deadline for the implementation of the new measures, but that they would be adopted “soon”.
