Livestock felled more than 800 million trees in the Brazilian Amazon in 6 years, study shows

An investigation based on data from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ), from Guardian (*), of Brazil Reporter and Forbidden Stories shows the systematic and vast loss of forest linked to livestock farming.

The beef industry in Brazil has alwayspromeyou to avoid farms linked to deforestation. However, data suggests that 1,7 million hectares (4,2 million acres) of the Amazon have been destroyed near meatpacking plants that export beef around the world.

The investigation is part of the Bruno and Dom do Forbidden Stories. It continues the work of Bruno Pereira, an expert on indigenous peoples, and journalist Dom Phillips, both men were killed in Amazon last year.

800m trees! #brunodomproject https://t.co/tv00OdduXy

— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) June 2, 2023

Researchers from consultancy AidEnvironment used satellite images, livestock movement records and other data to calculate estimated forest loss over six years, between 2017 and 2022, on thousands of farms near more than 20 slaughterhouses.

To find the farms most likely to supply each slaughterhouse, the researchers looked at “buy zones”; areas based on transportation connections and other factors, including verification through interviews with factory representatives. All slaughterhouses export widely, including to the EU, the United Kingdom and China, the world's largest buyer of Brazilian beef.

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The main Brazilian banks have made a commitment that, from 2026 onwards, they will only grant loans to slaughterhouses and slaughterhouses that have implemented tracking systems in their supply chains to prove that they do not buy cattle from illegally deforested areas in the Amazon and also in the State of Maranhão. 

Deforestation in the Amazon falls 36% in the first four months

The size of the deforested area in the Amazon during the first four months of this year was 36% smaller than in the same period in 2022, according to monitoring by the Institute for Man and the Environment of the Amazon (Imazon). Between January and April this year, the partial or total removal of Amazonian vegetation cover reached an area of ​​1.203 km². In the first four months of last year, 1.884 km² were deforested. 🌳

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