(Bloomberg) — A Brazilian state in the Amazon ignored the advice of its own environmental legal team and revoked a fine against JBS NV, the world’s largest meat processor, that stemmed from the company’s purchase of cattle raised in one of the rainforest’s most deforested reserves.
The attorney general of the state of Rondônia ruled last month that the fine was inappropriate because JBS purchased the cattle before 2022, when legislation was changed to prohibit the purchase of cattle from illegally deforested conservation areas, according to state administrative records seen by Bloomberg News.
The decision could undo four years of work by state inspectors and prosecutors, who fined and sued slaughterhouses for purchasing thousands of heads of cattle from farms within the Jaci-Paraná reserve. Created in 1996, Jaci-Paraná was intended for sustainable use by rubber tappers and Brazil nut collectors. Previously covered by tropical forest, today it has a pasture area approximately the size of Greater London, where more than 200,000 head of cattle graze.
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“Holding the links in the production chain responsible for illegal deforestation is essential to stop the destruction,” said Jair Schmitt, head of environmental protection at Ibama, the Brazilian federal environmental agency, which has also fined meatpacking plants, in an interview, speaking generally on the topic.
In total, the Public Ministry of Rondônia has filed around 50 lawsuits against beef processors, including industry giants such as JBS, MBRF Global Foods SA and Minerva SA, for allegedly purchasing thousands of heads of cattle from farms within the reserve between 2017 and 2021. The lawsuits seek a combined total of US$130 million to help restore part of the 150,000 hectares (370,000 acres) of deforested forest for pasture and also to strengthen environmental inspection, according to court documents.
In the recent case of JBS, the company stated that it could not be held responsible for the purchase of 55 heads of cattle made in 2017 because it was five years before the change in local legislation, among other factors.
JBS’ arguments were initially rejected by Aparício Paixão Ribeiro Júnior, environmental director of the Public Ministry of Rondônia. In a document dated August 7, he agreed with the conclusion of his colleagues who filed the lawsuits, stating that legislation prior to 2022 still applied and that Brazilian law holds responsible not only those who cause environmental damage, but also those who profit from it.
Three weeks later, however, a second opinion signed by his superior, Attorney General Thiago Alencar, said the opposite and agreed with JBS. Before 2022, he wrote in a legal opinion, legislation punished only direct actions against vegetation, not indirect conduct such as the purchase of livestock.
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The environmental agency then decided on September 8 to annul a fine from JBS in the amount of US$388,000.
JBS said in a statement that the farmer who sold the 55 head of cattle from the reserve provided false geographic coordinates, and added that the company took measures to prevent the farmer from selling to his plants. JBS still faces five lawsuits for allegedly purchasing cattle raised in Jaci-Paraná, where it was also fined 11 times, court records show.
JBS’s decision last month highlights the challenge of applying penalties to the meat industry, which is the main driver of deforestation.
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Each fine imposed by Rondônia that followed investigations from 2021 to 2023 uses a standard format, meaning the decision on JBS creates a precedent to free other companies from similar penalties, said state public prosecutor Pablo Viscardi, interim coordinator of the Public Ministry’s environmental section. Viscardi’s office operates independently from the State Public Prosecutor’s Office.
“The decision also weakens the legal actions, as they are all based on the infraction notices, although this is not enough to reject them, as there are other arguments that support them,” he said.
The Rondônia State Public Prosecutor’s Office, an independent body that represents the public in legal proceedings, cannot appeal the administrative decision that annulled JBS’s fine. However, he stated that he will continue to support the state Public Prosecutor’s Office in ongoing actions against slaughterhouses and farmers.
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MBRF Global Foods and Minerva declined to comment on the lawsuits, but said they maintain strict cattle tracking practices.
In total, 10 slaughterhouses were fined and prosecuted for purchasing cattle from Jaci-Paraná. The largest buyers, Distriboi and Frigorífico Irmãos Gonçalves (Frigon), were found guilty in a first instance decision. Neither returned requests for comment.
To contact the author of this article:
Fabiano Maisonnave in São Paulo via email
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