Brazil fines meatpacking companies, including giant JBS, for buying illegally raised cattle

The main entrance of the meat processing company JBS is visible in Porto Velho, Rondonia state, Brazil, July 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Brasilia, Brazil -

Brazil's environmental agency has levied $64 million in fines against 23 meatpacking companies and their suppliers for buying and selling cattle raised illegally on deforested land in the Amazon.

The operation, dubbed Cold Meat 2, launched last week. It tracked 18,000 head of cattle raised in 100 square miles (260 square kilometers) of pasture that has been banned for commercial use due to illegal deforestation. The agents also apprehended 8,854 head of cattle found inside the restricted areas. News of the fines began emerging over the weekend.

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Cattle raising is the main driver of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, with 90% of the total area cleared between 1985 and 2023 converted to pasture. That represents a total of 227,800 square miles (590,000 square kilometers), slightly larger than France. As a result, 14% of the Amazon is covered by grazing land, according to MapBiomas, a network of nongovernmental organizations that monitors land use.

“We are inspecting the production chain to hold offenders accountable for acquiring products from deforestation and to ensure that crime does not pay,” Jair Schmitt, chief of environmental protection at Brazil’s federal environmental agency, known as Ibama, told The Associated Press.

Among those fined was JBS, the world's largest meat-packing company. JBS has applied to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, a move that has faced opposition from some U.S. lawmakers and environmental nonprofits. It's not clear when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission may make a decision on JBS' bid.

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The JBS fine was $108,000 for purchasing 1,231 head of cattle, the fifth largest penalty among the fined companies.

The operation followed three months of investigation by Ibama's intelligence unit and is the latest episode linking JBS to illegal deforestation. In December, AP revealed that it is facing lawsuits for allegedly purchasing cattle raised illegally in Jaci-Parana, a protected area in the Brazilian Amazon.

In a statement, JBS denied buying cattle from embargoed areas and said it had already submitted documents to Ibama demonstrating their legal origin. However, the company declined to comment on the Jaci-Parana’s case despite repeated requests for clarification from AP since it published the story.

“JBS has maintained its Responsible Procurement Policy for 15 years and has a geospatial monitoring system in place to ensure that the company does not purchase animals from farms involved in illegal deforestation, encroachment on Indigenous lands or conservation areas that are under embargo by Ibama,” read the statement.

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Agropam, a meatpacker in Boca do Acre city, received the largest fine, $493,000, for buying 5,624 head of cattle from illegal areas. The company, which operates under the name of Frizam, sells beef only for Brazil's internal market. A message requesting comment was not returned.

The other top companies targeted were Mafrico, Frigol and 163 Beef. In a press statement, Frigol denied any wrongdoing and stated it has reached 100% compliance in independent audits since 2021.

Mafrico did not respond to a request for comment left by phone. Contact information for 163 Beef was not immediately available, as numbers on its Facebook page were disconnected.