Brazil to propose new bill for tracking cattle ranchers and curb deforestation

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Owner of the world’s largest commercial cattle herd, Brazil will draft a new bill to track indirect cattle suppliers selling to producers like JBS and Marfrig, as some ranchers are considered a major vector for deforestation.

In an interview with foreign correspondents on Monday, Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina said that the current tracking system is inefficient to monitor producers in an area comprising 5 million rural properties. “We need a system that is effective and provides the security that consumers need,” she said.

The Minister was referring specifically to Brazil’s indirect cattle suppliers, in an industry run by cattle ranchers who pass on animals throughout the cattle’s development cycle, before they are sent to slaughterhouses.

As there is often no tracking information on the properties through which animals have passed, Brazil is unable to guarantee to foreign customers that all laws have been complied with.

JBS, the world’s largest meat producer, has not commented on the government’s initiative. However, the company has stated it has been using blockchain technology to track cattle origin, pledging to eliminate deforestation in its supply chain by 2025.

Its rival Marfrig, which also operates in the United States and Argentina, praised the proposal.

“Marfrig supports the development of a new law to track indirect cattle suppliers in Brazil and makes itself available to the federal government to cooperate on the project,” the company said in a statement.

The company, which has pledged to eliminate deforestation in its supply chain by 2030, said traceability of the entire chain is key to mitigating social, environmental and governance risks for the entire meat sector.

The current Brazilian system for monitoring indirect cattle suppliers was created in 2009, Tereza said, but it was designed only to monitor suppliers selling animals to companies that export beef to the European Union.

The Minister noted that only 2,000 properties are currently monitored, while Brazil has 5 million rural properties.

Tereza Cristina further said she would present the draft bill soon, but did not provide a timeline or details of the new law to track cattle ranchers in Brazil, home to over 207 million head of cattle.

Source: Exame