Beef production is one of the biggest contributors to human-caused climate change. During Jair Bolsonaro’s presidency, from 2019 to 2022, major supermarket chains in Germany removed products from Brazil from their shelves due to increased deforestation in the Amazon to create new pastures. “As an international trading company with global supply chains, we want to take our share of responsibility in preventing the destruction of forest areas,” said a press release from the well-known discount chain ALDI two years ago.

But while German buyers have kept their distance, Brazilian beef has been a huge success on the world market. The business magazine “Valor” reported a few days ago: “Brazilian beef exports are expected to exceed three million tons,” a forecast based on data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). If these estimates are realized, export volumes will be almost 4% higher than in 2022 and equal to almost 25% of global beef exports.

The new government of Lula da Silva continues Bolsonaro’s policy, because of the economic benefit for the country. “Brazil is showing the strength and size of its livestock and the expansion to the world market is a great opportunity to restart the development of this sector,” said Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro, according to local media, after the successful completion of the negotiations with Mexico. In the future, the export of beef will start again (after an interruption due to suspected cases of mad cows) to Mexico, China, but also to Arab countries.

The environmental cost is enormous

However, environmental groups criticize the current beef promotion strategy. “The current situation is worrying and inconsistent with the government’s goal of zero deforestation and its commitments to the UN on climate and biodiversity. The expansion of pastures is progressing steadily and is still the main reason for deforestation in the Amazon region,” says Cristian Mazzetti of Greenpeace Brazil, a special expert on forests, in response to a question from DW.

She notes that meat companies and retailers who pledged to ban products linked to deforestation from their supply chains have broken their promises and repeatedly delayed their full traceability goals. “In practice especially indirect supply chains are poorly monitored and often linked to deforestation and human rights abuses. If the EU-Mercosur trade agreement also enters into force, then further pressure on nature will increase,” emphasizes Mazetti.

Last hope action plan against deforestation

The Brazilian government, however, has included in the draft of the so-called action plan to combat and prevent deforestation in the Amazon, the introduction of a traceability system for agricultural products. Mazetti points out that it is too early to call the scheme a success, but as she says, if it is well structured, transparent and mandatory, the plan could be a big step towards effectively tackling deforestation.

The newspaper “Folha” published a study showing how closely the export of agricultural products from Brazil is linked to deforestation. Specifically, the research points out that half of China’s soybean exports come from deforested Atlantic forests. Nevertheless, the successes of the Brazilian agricultural industry do not go unnoticed, as according to the Center for Agricultural Business Studies of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV Agro), the index of agro-industrial production (PIMAgro) increased by 1.3% in January, the best result in 5 years. However, it is not the only number that has increased. Amazon deforestation saw a significant increase in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the previous year. News website G1 reported a 14% increase in deforestation compared to the same month last year, with the new government blaming Bolsonaro for it.