Reading Time: 2 minutes Multinational grains traders operating in Brazil are seeking to weaken an agreement that forbids buying soybeans from farms on deforested land in the Amazon rainforest, environmental advocates involved in the discussions said on Wednesday
Soy traders push to weaken ban on buying from deforested Amazon
River level at Amazon rainforest port hits 122-year low amid drought
Grain exports and essential supplies affected
Reading Time: 2 minutes The river port in the Amazon rainforest's largest city of Manaus on Friday hit its lowest level since 1902, as a drought drains waterways and snarls transport of grain exports and essential supplies that are the region's lifeline.
Brazil tells landowners to stop setting fires in Amazon ‘climate emergency’
Properties could be embargoed, agency says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazil’s government told ranchers and farmers on Friday to stop setting fire to the Amazon rainforest as clouds of dense gray smoke make the air increasingly unbreathable in the northern city of Manaus, threatening sanctions if they do burn areas of land. “Fire is not natural in the Amazon, it […] Read more
Brazil’s JBS bought 301,000 cattle from ‘irregular’ farms in Amazon, audit finds
Prosecutors 'negotiating improvements' with companies
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — Nearly a third of the cattle bought by JBS SA in the Brazilian Amazon state of Para came from ranches with “irregularities” such as illegal deforestation, prosecutors found in a 2020 audit of the world’s largest meatpacker released on Thursday. In a presentation, federal prosecutors said they were “negotiating improvements” […] Read more
JBS pledges net zero greenhouse emissions by 2040
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — JBS SA, the world’s largest meatpacker, has committed to zeroing the balance of its global greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, the company said on Tuesday, amid criticism of its role in a Brazilian beef industry driving rainforest destruction. “We know it is very difficult to achieve this,” CEO Gilberto Tomazoni […] Read more
JBS vows to monitor whole cattle supply chain’s impact on Amazon
Packer plans to move against cattle 'laundering'
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — JBS SA, the world’s top meatpacker, said Wednesday it plans to combat destruction in the Amazon by monitoring its entire supply chain for deforestation by 2025, as pressure mounts from environmentalists and investors. Brazilian meatpackers are facing increasing criticism that beef production is fueling deforestation in the Amazon, where cleared […] Read more
Brazil Amazon deforestation soars to 11-year high
Reading Time: 3 minutes Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil | Reuters — Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest rose to its highest in over a decade this year, government data on Monday showed, confirming a sharp increase under the leadership of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro. The data from Brazil’s INPE space research agency, which showed deforestation soaring 29.5 per cent […] Read more
Brazil farmers push traders to end Amazon soy moratorium
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters – Brazilian farmers plan to start a campaign next week to end a ban by trading firms on buying soybeans from parts of the Amazon rainforest cleared after 2008, leaders from a major farmer group told Reuters, citing support from President Jair Bolsonaro. The push to end traders’ voluntary “soy moratorium” — one […] Read more
South America fires could disrupt its farm belt’s rainfall
Reading Time: 2 minutes Santa Cruz | Reuters — Forest fires that swept across Bolivia and Brazil this year could disrupt rainfall distribution across South America’s grains-and-beef producing regions in unpredictable ways for years to come, a scientist and meteorologist said. Recent rains in both countries have helped put out the wildfires, which were likely started by farmers and […] Read more
Brazil’s JBS says it uses satellites to monitor cattle suppliers
Reading Time: < 1 minute Sao Paulo | Reuters — The world’s largest meatpacker JBS SA is closely monitoring the origin of the cattle it buys in Brazil amid heightened concerns about environmental preservation and sustainable business practices, its CEO said Wednesday. Speaking at an industry event in Sao Paulo, JBS CEO Gilberto Tomazoni said the company is using satellite […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
