The G4 Cattle Agreement – commitments a decade overdue
Greenpeace has long recognised that, for Brazil’s beef
any suppliers – direct or indirect – accused of
industry as for other commodities sectors, traceability
land grabbing or convicted of involvement in
and transparency are key to accountable supply
land conflicts.
chains and therefore to preventing environmental destruction and human rights abuses. Greenpeace
•
Proof of freedom from slave labour: The
Brazil’s investigations into the industry’s involvement
companies were required to avoid buying
in deforestation, published in 2009 in the Greenpeace
from farms using slave labour (backed by a
International report Slaughtering the Amazon, led to
requirement to sign and fully comply with Brazil’s
the signing of the G4 Cattle Agreement later that
National Pact for the Eradication of Slave Labour)
year by the country’s four largest beef processors:
and to be able to prove that their supply chains
Bertin (subsequently bought by JBS), JBS, Marfrig
were free from slavery.
and Minerva. Based on the demands made in the 34
report, this agreement was intended to ensure both
•
Proof by suppliers of legal land title: They
compliance with fundamental environmental and
also pledged not to source cattle from farms –
human rights standards and transparent reporting on
initially direct suppliers, but to be extended to
that compliance, making these key meat processors
include indirect suppliers within two years – that
themselves the agents of transformation. It involved a
could not provide maps showing their property
range of commitments concerning their sourcing from
boundaries and areas of use and non-use or
farms within the Amazon biome, requiring them to
(after grace periods of six months, two years
ensure, at a minimum:
and five years, respectively) that were not registered, lacked an environmental permit or
•
Proof of zero deforestation: The beef
did not have legal land title.
processors were required to prove that they were
How
is still Slaughtering the Amazon
not buying animals (directly or, within two years,
20
•
Credible tracking systems: Suppliers were to be
indirectly) from farms that had engaged in any
required to formally commit to adopting a reliable
deforestation after the date on which they signed
and internationally acceptable tracking system
the agreement.
enabling monitoring, verification and reporting of the origins of all cattle products and by-products,
•
Proof of freedom from land invasion: The
and an independent auditing system was to be
companies were required to prove that they
established to ensure the signatory companies’
were not sourcing cattle from farms that had
compliance with the terms of the agreement.
been accused of invading Indigenous lands or fined for invading protected areas. They also
While this voluntary private-sector commitment
pledged to avoid sourcing cattle from farms
by Brazil’s largest beef producers was a breakthrough,
that had been embargoed by IBAMA, or from
a separate agreement – the Terms of Adjustment of
