{"id":78760,"date":"2025-09-25T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T03:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/?p=78760"},"modified":"2025-10-20T14:24:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T12:24:12","slug":"jbs-beef-exports-illegal-cattle-indigenous-land","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/publication\/78760\/jbs-beef-exports-illegal-cattle-indigenous-land\/","title":{"rendered":"JBS beef exports linked to cattle raised illegally on Indigenous Land"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Greenpeace Brazil has revealed that beef from cattle raised illegally on protected Indigenous land in the Amazon rainforest may have ended up on the plates of consumers all around the world after entering the supply chains of Brazilian beef giant JBS.<\/p>\n\n<p>The new investigation focuses on trade links between JBS and Mauro Fernando Schaedler, a Brazilian agribusiness entrepreneur who owns four properties that border or partially overlap with the Pequizal do Navur\u00f4tu Indigenous Land, which is a legally protected Indigenous territory.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>The Naruv\u00f4tu are an Amazonian people who have fought for decades to have their territory legally recognised and protected. While the Pequizal do Naruv\u00f4tu Indigenous territory was identified in 2006 and finally granted full official protection by the Brazilian government in 2016, ranchers in the region have continued to contest its demarcation as Indigenous land. Among those who have attempted to discredit Naruv\u00f4tu\u2019s claim to their territory is none other than Mauro Fernando Schaedler.<\/p>\n\n<p>Schaedler\u2019s farms in the Amazon currently face fines of almost half a million euros from Brazil\u2019s government for a string of environmental offences: Schaedler has been fined a few times, since the late 2000s by the Brazilian Environmental Agency IBAMA. Most recently, in 2023, Schaedler\u2019s farm Fazenda Tr\u00eas Coqueiros II received a fine and was embargoed for <strong>raising cattle without a license inside the Naruv\u00f4tu\u2019s territory<\/strong>. The embargo issued by Brazil&#8217;s environmental agency IBAMA affected 592 hectares of the farm within the Naruv\u00f4tu land.<\/p>\n\n<p>However, Schaedler has managed to sell the cattle illegally raised on Naruv\u00f4tu land by transferring cattle reared on Fazenda Tr\u00eas Coqueiros II to another farm, a practice known as \u2018cattle laundering\u2019. Between January 2018 and November 2024, Fazenda Tr\u00eas Coqueiros II sent cattle<strong> <\/strong>to another farm, Fazenda Itapirana, which supplied cattle to two JBS slaughterhouses.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Figure 01: Cattle movements between Fazenda Tr\u00eas Coqueiros II, Fazenda Itapirana and JBS in \u00c1gua Boa and in Barra do Gar\u00e7as<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"359\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2025\/09\/7657da06-infograficos-joelma_demanda-3-envs-1024x359.jpg\" title=\"Cattle movements between Fazenda Tr\u00eas Coqueiros II, Fazenda Itapirana and JBS in \u00c1gua Boa and in Barra do Gar\u00e7as\" alt=\"Cattle movements between Fazenda Tr\u00eas Coqueiros II, Fazenda Itapirana and JBS in \u00c1gua Boa and in Barra do Gar\u00e7as\" class=\"wp-image-78845\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2025\/09\/7657da06-infograficos-joelma_demanda-3-envs-1024x359.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2025\/09\/7657da06-infograficos-joelma_demanda-3-envs-300x105.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2025\/09\/7657da06-infograficos-joelma_demanda-3-envs-768x269.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2025\/09\/7657da06-infograficos-joelma_demanda-3-envs-1536x538.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2025\/09\/7657da06-infograficos-joelma_demanda-3-envs-510x179.jpg 510w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2025\/09\/7657da06-infograficos-joelma_demanda-3-envs.jpg 1855w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n<p><em>Organisation: Greenpeace Brazil (2025)<\/em><\/p>\n\n<p>The JBS slaughterhouse in \u00c1gua Boa (in Mato Grosso state) received cattle from Fazenda Itapirana from February 2019, until as recently as February 2025. This slaughterhouse is authorised to export to several places, including Hong Kong.<\/p>\n\n<p>The other JBS slaughterhouse, in Barra do Gar\u00e7as, is approved for exports to the EU, Canada, UK and many others. Greenpeace Brazil\u2019s investigation found out that this slaughterhouse purchased cattle from Fazenda Itapirana from 2018 and 2021 and exported meat to several European countries within that time period, according to Brazilian export data obtained via Comex Stat.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>This means that <strong>meat from Schaedler\u2019s farm, from cattle raised illegally on Indigenous land, may well have been served to unwitting consumers across Europe and many other countries<\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>It is relevant to note that the JBS slaughterhouse in Barra do Gar\u00e7as continues to export to Europe today, although Greenpeace Brasil has not identified data indicating that it has bought cattle from Fazenda Itapirana after July 2021. According to Brazilian export data for the first half of 2025, Europe was the second largest market for beef exports from that slaughterhouse, imported by Spain, Germany, the UK, Italy and the Netherlands. Until the landmark EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is finally implemented, the EU will have no means to ensure that meat linked to deforestation of the Amazon or land conflicts does not land on European markets.<\/p>\n\n<p>This investigation provides just one example of how JBS and large corporations profit and expand from the absence of a comprehensive, effective and transparent control system for their supply chain, which indirectly supports environmental damage and the violation of constitutional rights and guarantees, especially the fundamental rights of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil.<\/p>\n\n<p>This case study demonstrates how links to the violation of Indigenous Peoples\u2019 rights persist in the meat supply chain of JBS, potentially ending up on the plates of consumers all around the world &#8211; despite commitments by JBS and other large meatpackers to ensure traceability of their entire supply chain, and pledges by global leaders to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030.<\/p>\n\n<p>Time and again, Big Agribusiness companies like JBS have proven unable or unwilling to protect the forest and those that call it home. We urgently need global action to defend the Amazon and hold Big Ag to account for the damage it is causing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>With policy-makers considering whether to approve the controversial EU-Mercosur trade agreement, political decisions taking place in the EU right now could make the situation even worse. The EU-Mercosur deal will increase meat import quotas from Brazil to the EU without guarantee that these imports are not linked to deforestation or violations of Indigenous Peoples\u2019 rights.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>European governments and parliamentarians must reject the EU-Mercosur trade deal and ensure the swift application of the EU Deforestation Regulation without further delay or dilution.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>At COP30, global leaders should commit to an action plan for forests to ensure a thriving Amazon for future generations.<\/p>\n\n<p>Download Greenpeace Brazil report:<\/p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2025\/09\/94ba7b48-p4_jbs_caso2_eng.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">JBS: Cooking the Planet &#8211; JBS beef exports linked to cattle raised illegally on Indigenous Land<\/a><\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<section\n\t\t\tclass=\"boxout post-72469 \"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\tdata-ga-category=\"Take Action Boxout\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-ga-action=\"Image\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-ga-label=\"n\/a\"\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"cover-card-overlay\"\n\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/act\/respect-amazon\/\" \n\t\t\t><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2025\/03\/54e64eac-gp1ta6ez-1024x683.jpg\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsrcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2025\/03\/54e64eac-gp1ta6ez-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2025\/03\/54e64eac-gp1ta6ez-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2025\/03\/54e64eac-gp1ta6ez-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2025\/03\/54e64eac-gp1ta6ez-510x340.jpg 510w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2025\/03\/54e64eac-gp1ta6ez.jpg 1200w\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 358px, (min-width: 780px) 313px, 88px\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\talt=\"Illegal Mining in the Sarar\u00e9 Indigenous Land in the Amazon. \u00a9 Fabio Bispo \/ Greenpeace\" title=\"Illegal Mining in the Sarar\u00e9 Indigenous Land in the Amazon. \u00a9 Fabio Bispo \/ Greenpeace\"\n\t\t\t\t\/>\n            \t\t\t<div class=\"boxout-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"boxout-heading medium\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-ga-category=\"Take Action Boxout\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-ga-action=\"Title\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-ga-label=\"n\/a\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/act\/respect-amazon\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tRespect the Amazon\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"boxout-excerpt\">Ask political leaders to act on their promises to stop Amazon destruction.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t                                    <a\n                        class=\"btn btn-primary\"\n                        data-ga-category=\"Take Action Boxout\"\n                        data-ga-action=\"Call to Action\"\n                        data-ga-label=\"n\/a\"\n                        href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/act\/respect-amazon\/\"\n                        \n                    >\n                        Join the movement\n                    <\/a>\n                \t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This case study demonstrates how links to the violation of Indigenous Peoples\u2019 rights persist in the meat supply chain of JBS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":78829,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_planet4_optimize_post_is_variant":false,"_planet4_optimize_experiment_name":"","_planet4_optimize_variant_name":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"JBS beef exports linked to cattle raised illegally on Indigenous 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