Brazil is once again singled out for environmental protection. Several large retail groups including Auchan and Carrefour have committed to withdrawing beef products suspected of being linked to deforestation in Brazil, the American NGO Mighty Earth announced on Thursday.
These decisions come after the publication of an investigation conducted by the Brazilian NGO Reporter Brasil, founded in particular by journalists, in partnership with Mighty Earth. In it, the NGO accuses JBS, Marfrig and Minerva, three Brazilian industrialists specializing in meat, of participating in deforestation in certain regions of the country. The NGO maintains that certain products linked to deforestation are found in European supermarkets, in the form of dried beef, corned beef or fresh meat.
Auchan investigates the origin of a product
The Carrefour group has therefore chosen to withdraw from its stores in Belgium a reference of the brand Jack Link’s, which manufactures part of its beef jerky in Brazil with the industrialist JBS, after the report of Mighty Earth. “We look at the origin of the products that we would have in other countries – if we find any – to make a similar decision if the case arises,” confirmed Agathe Grossmith, director of CSR projects at Carrefour. For its part, Auchan says it has initiated a procedure for the withdrawal of a Jack Link’s product in France and is in the process of investigating its origin. The group also recalls that it does not source Brazilian beef for its private labels.
According to Mighty Earth, the Belgian supermarket chain Delhaize has committed “to remove all Jack Link’s products from its shelves”. The NGO also notes the initiatives of several other large distribution chains such as Lidl and Albert Heijn in the Netherlands as well as Sainsbury’s and Princes in the United Kingdom to avoid selling Brazilian beef.