The life and death of a ‘laundered’ cow in the Amazon rainforest

Cattle moved between ranches, allowing meat from farms linked to deforestation to end up on supermarket shelvesRevealed: world’s largest meat company may break Amazon deforestation pledges againBibles, bullets and beef: Amazon cowboy culture at odds with Brazil’s climate goalsBrazil is the biggest exporter of beef in the world, and more than 40% of its vast 240m-cattle herd is raised in the Amazon region. As a result, swathes of the nature-rich rainforest are being cleared and burned to create pasture.This is pushing Amazon destruction close to a point of no return, prompting environmentalists and consumer groups to demand deforestation-free meat products. Governments, meat suppliers and retailers have promised to clean up their act, but one of the biggest hurdles is a complex and obscure supply chain that can hide the origins of meat products. Continue reading...

Apr 17, 2025 - 12:15

The life and death of a ‘laundered’ cow in the Amazon rainforest

Cattle moved between ranches, allowing meat from farms linked to deforestation to end up on supermarket shelves

Brazil is the biggest exporter of beef in the world, and more than 40% of its vast 240m-cattle herd is raised in the Amazon region. As a result, swathes of the nature-rich rainforest are being cleared and burned to create pasture.

This is pushing Amazon destruction close to a point of no return, prompting environmentalists and consumer groups to demand deforestation-free meat products. Governments, meat suppliers and retailers have promised to clean up their act, but one of the biggest hurdles is a complex and obscure supply chain that can hide the origins of meat products. Continue reading...