Deforestation: British and European supermarkets threaten to boycott Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Groups say they consider Brazil’s presentation in April of a bill that threatens the Amazon “extremely worrying.”

Large British and European supermarkets and food producers on Wednesday, May 5th, threatened to boycott Brazilian products because of a bill which, they claim, would lead to further deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.

In an open letter to Brasilia legislators, the groups say they consider the presentation in April of a bill “extremely worrying” after the withdrawal last year of a similar proposal, endorsed by President Jair Bolsonaro, to which they had previously voiced their opposition.

This measure presents “potentially even greater threats to the Amazon than before,” say the 38 signatories to the letter, which include major British supermarket chains like Tesco, J Sainsbury, Marks & Spencer, as well as Germany’s Aldi, food production companies like the National Pig Association, the Swedish public pension fund AP7, and other investment managers.

The text provides for the “land tenure regulation, through alienation, or concession of the right of real use, of occupation of federal domain areas; it establishes the date of May 25th, 2012, when the Forest Code was enacted, as the occupation deadline,” states the Brazilian Senate website.

In addition, it “increases the area subject to regulation to up to 2,500 hectares; exempts a prior inspection of the area to be regulated, and may be replaced by a declaration by the occupant him- or herself.”

Despite the announcement during the climate summit organized on April 22nd by U.S. President Joe Biden that Brazil will seek carbon neutrality by 2050, Bolsonaro has done nothing to discourage the exploitation of the Amazon forest for agriculture, or mining.

“Over the past year, we have witnessed a number of circumstances that have caused extremely high levels of forest fires and deforestation in Brazil,” the signatories to the open letter denounce.

And considering that “existing protections” in Brazilian law are “fundamental” to ensure that these companies meet their environmental commitments, the signatories announced that should these be removed, “we will have no other choice but to reconsider our support and use of the Brazilian agricultural products supply chain.”

In 2019 and 2020, deforestation in the Amazon amounted to 10,700 square kilometers and 9,800 square kilometers, respectively, the highest levels since 2008, according to official data.

In an interview with AFP, Environment Minister Ricardo Salles said in April that if Brazil were to be granted US$1 billion in aid from the international community, it could reduce illegal deforestation in the Amazon rainforest by up to 40%.