March 3, 2020

 

JBS Brazil under pressure over supply chain transparency issues

 

Brazillian politicians and environmentalists say JBS, the biggest meat company in the world, has not explained the transparency failure in its meat supply chain, reported The Guardian.

 

According to critics, the lack of information implicates JBS as the company is unable to confirm if it obtains cattle from illegal deforestation activities.

 

Fabiano Contarato, a senator that heads the environment commission, likens this problem to "cattle laundering" and has called for the country's environment and agriculture ministers to attend a hearing in congress to investigate the company.

 

While the Brazilian meat industry does have an issue with supply chain transparency, competitor Marfig had recently released a statement to admit the problem with indirect suppliers and to take action to find a resolution to the issue. On the other hand, JBS, which operates deep in the Amazon, has not answered questions pertaining to whether its beef comes from indirect suppliers.

 

There is also disapproval towards JBS supply chain audits, which said indirect suppliers have no verification system.  

 

Investigative reporting work conducted by The Guardian, Repórter Brasil and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism found that Amazon deforestation is driven by global meat demand, with fires regularly occurring in Amazon beef farming locations.

 

JBS has direct suppliers from Amazon full cycle farms, where cattle are bred from birth to slaughter. The company's monitoring system for direct suppliers covers 28,000 sq miles and 50,000 farms daily. JBS said 8,000 farms have been blocked because of non-compliance.

 

However, indirect suppliers where cattle are birthed, fattened or sold onwards from one farm to other farms and slaughterhouses are not monitored.

 

Holly Gibbs, University of Wisconsin professor of geography and an expert in Amazon cattle supply chains for 10 years said producers commonly sell as both direct and indirect suppliers. 80% of Amazon direct suppliers purchase from other properties, and usually only one property is stringently monitored.

 

Marifig said indirect suppliers account for 53% of the company's cattle purchases. JBS has not disclosed its amount.

 

The Brazil government fined JBS 24.7 million BRL (~US$5.5 million; 1 BRL = US$0.24) for the purchase of 49,000 cattle from illegally deforested locations in Para state, Amazon. 

 

-      The Guardian