Representatives of several indigenous peoples in Brazil and Colombia took legal action this month in Saint Etiénne, France against the French transnational supermarket chain Groupe Casino. Their case alleges that Casino sells meat sourced from suppliers complicit in deforestation and rights violations of indigenous communities.
- The action is motivated by Casino’s beef purchases from slaughterhouses owned by the world’s largest meat company JBS
- Casino claims to monitor its supply chain and to source beef only from establishments committed to natural ecosystem conservation; however, the Centre for Climate Crime Analysis reports that three JBS slaughterhouses sourced cattle from 592 suppliers responsible for at least 50,000 hectares of deforestation between 2008 and 2020
- The claimants point out that ‘ethical labelling’ only applies to the cattle farms where stock is fattened before slaughter whereas it is in the earlier cattle raising stages where farming takes place on illegally deforested land
IUF Assistant General Secretary James Ritchie said, “IUF affiliates and NGO’s will continue the struggle against JBS’s environmental vandalism and violation of rights. We will coordinate international support for the work of the IUF Latin American region REL-UITA in seeking justice for meat workers and for indigenous communities defending the Amazon from further life-threatening destruction.”
Photo credit: La Diaria
