Other major supermarket chains in Europe – Delhaize and Carrefour in Belgium, France’s Auchan and British Sainsbury’s – will also stop selling products made from Brazilian beef. They are doing this after new research by Repórter Brasil together with environmental movement Mighty Earth.
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For this study, deforestation-related beef was tracked to the shelves of European stores. It turns out that a large part of the meat exports of Brazilian JBS – the world’s largest beef processor – consists of cattle raised in the Amazon.
And that has a negative impact on the rainforest. This is because illegal logging takes place to free up land, according to Mighty Earth, which is committed to protecting the world’s forests.
Important turning point
“This is a major turning point as several major supermarkets in Europe are clearly saying ‘no’ to Brazilian beef because they are concerned about deforestation,” says Mighty Earth.
“These are concrete actions by some of the largest supermarkets in Europe, to stop buying and selling beef from a company and a country that made too many promises and showed too few results.”
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Research has shown that Amazon deforestation has reached its highest level in 15 years. Much deforestation takes place in protected areas.
Protect biodiversity
Albert Heijn will remove Brazilian beef from its range in the coming months, together with suppliers. “Trees capture CO2 and thus help reduce climate change. In addition, forests are home to a large part of the world’s biodiversity. That is why we are committed to preventing deforestation where possible. We pay particular attention to palm oil, soy, wood fibers and cocoa, and now also beef,” says Albert Heijn.
Lidl Netherlands will no longer sell beef from Brazil from January. “Protecting biodiversity, including preventing deforestation, is a central theme in our sustainable procurement policy.”
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