Background - 28 March, 2012
Greenpeace during a series of private meetings this month urged companies to stop buying beef or leather from JBS Brazil.
JBS, the world’s largest beef producer, is currently under investigation by the authorities in Brazil for buying from farms that committed illegal deforestation, used slave labour and invaded legally protected indigenous reserves[1]. Greenpeace has delivered this message to JBS – until they fulfil their commitments, they risk losing business from some of the world’s biggest brands.
In October 2009, following pressure from high profile brands using beef and leather– Nike, Timberland, Clarks, Geox, Adidas and Princes (part of the Mitsubishi Group)- JBS signed an agreement to not buy cattle from farms that committed recent deforestation, used slave labour or invaded indigenous lands. In October 2011, Greenpeace investigations[2] and a legal case in Brazil demonstrated that JBS was reneging on its commitment and violating the 2009 agreement.
Greenpeace presented these findings to the brands and JBS in October 2011. Since then, JBS has not put forward any documentation to disprove Greenpeace’s evidence and that of the authorities in Brazil. In January 2012, Greenpeace met directly with JBS. The representatives of the beef giant were not able to demonstrate compliance with the agreement or any improvements in their purchasing processes since the release of the Greenpeace evidence and the ongoing legal investigation. JBS has also failed to share a promised comprehensive 3rd party audit of their operations, in line with the 2009 agreement, to prove that they aren’t buying from farms deforesting, using slave labour or invading legally protected indigenous reserves. Furthermore JBS has publicly mischaracterized its commitment as not buying from illegal deforestation as opposed to any deforestation.
JBS has also not been honest with their stakeholders. They have provided erroneous information to the Sustainable Cattle Working Group in Brazil whose membership includes the beef industry, financial institutions, NGOs and supermarkets[3] claiming that they had disproved Greenpeace’s evidence and that the authorities in Brazil had dropped their case against JBS. Neither statement can be substantiated and, after Greenpeace raised this with the Working Group, these claims were removed from the Sustainable Cattle Working Group’s website
Because JBS has violated its commitments, companies buying leather or beef from JBS are still complicit in these crimes and cannot ensure that their products are not linked to Amazon destruction, slave labour or invasions into legally protected indigenous lands. Greenpeace is therefore calling on companies to stop buying beef and leather from JBS Brazil until such time as they clearly demonstrate adherence to their commitments to the 2009 cattle agreement through an independent third party audit.