Largest beef giant promises to go deforestation-free by 2035

According to a report by Mongabay: 

• JBS, a giant company implicated in multiple cases of large-scale forest clearing in Brazil, recently made a commitment to achieve zero deforestation across its global supply chain by 2035. Environmentalists argue this pledge is grossly insufficient.
• In a new Soy and Cattle Deforestation Tracker, JBS scores just a single point out of 100. Its nearest competitors, Minerva and Marfrig, have scores of 46/100 and 40/100 respectively.
• Tagging and tracking systems to ensure transparency along the entire beef supply have long been proposed, but JBS has resisted disclosing its full list of suppliers.
• Under present conditions, Brazil is losing forest cover at the fastest rate in more than a decade, and this deforestation is driven largely by the meatpacking industry.

JBS, the largest animal protein producer in the world residing in Brazil, has vowed to achieve zero deforestation by 2035 and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. 

While this is great news for some, others are disappointed it will take 14 years to accomplish. 

“JBS has just promised at least 14 more years of forest destruction,” says Sarah Lake, vice-president and global director for Latin America at Mighty Earth, a global NGO that runs environmental campaigns.

“For the sake of its profit margins, JBS continues to sacrifice the climate, biodiversity, and law compliance. Its new announcement couldn’t make it more clear: JBS will continue to fuel deforestation in the Amazon and beyond for at least another 14 years, and fuel the climate crisis well after that. At this point, financial institutions and buyers that continue to trade with or invest in JBS will be making a mockery of any sustainability commitments. What’s more, they will be knowingly complicit in fueling the environmental catastrophe that threatens our planet,’ says Daniela Montalto, Forest and Food Campaigner at Greenpeace UK. 

The company has made no commitment to tackle the fundamental source of its carbon footprint – the production of meat, reports Greenpeace.