In a recent report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) laid bare the extensive damage illegal cattle ranching has inflicted on the Brazilian Rainforest, emphasizing its detrimental effects on indigenous populations in regions like Pará. HRW’s findings have prompted calls for decisive action from the Brazilian government to dismantle these illicit operations and rehabilitate the impacted communities. Furthermore, the advocacy group places responsibility on JBS, the largest meat-processing firm globally, urging them to acknowledge their role in facilitating deforestation.
The report highlights how illegal ranching has aggressively encroached on areas such as the Terra Nossa settlement and the Cachoeira Seca Indigenous territory, leading to the displacement of residents and the destruction of their homes and agricultural outputs. HRW has traced the origins of some of these illegal cattle farms back to suppliers linked with JBS. Notably, at least five instances were identified where cattle from these unauthorized ranches were processed outside protected zones and eventually sold to JBS. Despite the company’s stated global policy of maintaining a deforestation-free supply chain, issues persist. While JBS plans to mandate that direct suppliers disclose information about indirect suppliers by 2026, there is currently no federal mandate in Brazil for comprehensive cattle tracking. Investigators observed that prior to selling to JBS, suppliers obscured the origins of cattle sourced from illegally acquired lands.
Luciana Téllez Chávez, a senior environment researcher at HRW, remarked that JBS has yet to implement a reliable system to monitor its indirect suppliers, a pledge it initially made in 2011. Without such measures, she argues, JBS cannot fulfill its promise to eradicate deforestation from its supply chain by 2025. Addressing deforestation and the associated human rights violations demands collaboration between sellers and buyers. In Terra Nossa, a settlement designated for small farmers by the federal government in 2006, 45.3 percent had been illegally transformed into ranches by 2023. Similarly, Cachoeira Seca, a legally protected indigenous territory, recorded the highest deforestation rates in any indigenous area by 2024. Displaced lawful residents face the devastation of their crops and homes, often encountering violence when resisting.
While Brazil has enacted legislation like the Forest Code to safeguard the Amazon, deforestation remains rampant, with current levels at 17 percent primarily due to cattle ranching. The HRW has urged the government not only to expel illegal ranchers but also to provide reparations to communities for the unlawful occupation of their lands. They insist upon JBS addressing its complicity in these human rights infringements through its supply chain relationships.
For more on this topic, the full HRW report can be accessed here.
Additional details regarding the impact and ongoing efforts in Brazil can be found in a report by Reuters, which examines the broader implications of deforestation efforts in the region.