World’s largest meat company considers breaking Amazon deforestation pledges, again
JBS, the world’s largest meat company, is facing significant challenges in meeting its 2025 commitment to eliminate deforestation from its Amazon cattle supply chain, The Guardian reported. Investigations involving ranchers and union leaders in Pará and Rondônia reveal widespread skepticism about JBS’s ability to achieve its deforestation-free goal due to unresolved land ownership issues, illegal cattle laundering, and technical hurdles in implementing traceability systems.
JBS aims to register all suppliers and monitor farms using artificial intelligence and a blockchain platform, alongside a new ear-tagging scheme to track cattle. However, many ranchers argue that small and medium producers lack the necessary resources and support to comply with these requirements by the deadline.
The company acknowledges the complexity of addressing illegal deforestation across millions of farms but maintains it has policies and investments to reduce deforestation risks. Despite these efforts, JBS has faced legal and political pressure over past links to deforestation, including lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny in the US. The company continues to work with partners to promote sustainable cattle raising but admits that industry-wide transformation is needed to meet environmental goals.
