Brazil's Marfrig rejects cattle from deforested Amazon areas

Marfrig Alimentos S.A., a Brazilian meat and poultry processor, has decided to stop buying cattle or selling beef derived from cattle raised in deforested areas of the Amazon region.

Sao Paulo-based Marfrig said it will work with state governments to develop a ''Cattle Origin Guarantee Programme'' to ensure the company and its suppliers do not acquire animals from areas embargoed by Brazil's federal environmental agency, or from areas on the slave labour list of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Marfrig will also stop purchasing from farm owners who have had a single farm embargoed and will continue to bar them until they comply with federal rules.

The company's sustainability policy will also include the development of ''good socio-environmental practices'' in association with cattle producers and implementing the ''Cattle Raising Encouragement Programme'' to teach best practices for improving pasture productivity.

JBS has signed a pact with retail giant Wal-Mart, in which both parties will work together to guarantee that beef will not be sourced from properties that have any irregularities particularly in relation to a blacklist drawn up by the Brazilian Environment Institute (IBAMA) or from ranchers that have in any way exploited child or slave like labour.

Leading retailers in Brazil, including CBD and local subsidiaries of Wal-Mart and Carrefour, have recently decided to stop buying beef produced in deforested areas of the Amazon. The decision followed a report by environmental group Greenpeace claiming the beef industry is the largest contributor to the deforestation in the Amazon.