Slaughterhouses that agreed to a settlement with Brazilian prosecutors were far more likely to obey environmental laws banning the purchase of cattle from illegally deforested land, according to an audit published Wednesday, but gaps in oversight mean much of the Amazon’s beef supply chain remains linked to forest destruction.
Companies that hired independent auditors as part of the agreement with the Federal Prosecution Service acquired 4% of their cattle from areas with illegal clearing. In contrast, companies that did not hire auditors recorded a 52% non-compliance rate, 13 times higher.
