Posted by jamie — 5 July 2010 at 12:17pm
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In Brazil, moves are afoot to amend a piece of legislation which has been protecting the Amazon rainforest for over 70 years, and not for the better. If the changes are voted through, it could mean that the area of the Amazon which can be legally destroyed will double, and it's the backers of these changes - the agriculture, biofuels and energy barons - who stand to benefit as they argue that pesky forest laws are a hindrance to economic development.
At a signing ceremony in Sao Paulo today, four of the world's largest beef and
leather companies (1) agreed to ban the purchase of cattle from newly deforested
land in the Amazon (2). The four - Marfrig, Bertin, JBS-Friboi and Minerva -
dominate the world export market and supply the UK.
One of the world's largest leather suppliers, and Brazil's second-largest beef
exporter today backed Greenpeace's call for a moratorium on the purchase of
cattle from farms involved in new deforestation in the Amazon with immediate
effect. (1).
Bertin's announcement follows tough new policy statements
from shoe retailers such as Clarks, Nike, Timberland, Geox and Adidas, in
response to a Greenpeace report entitled Slaughtering the Amazon, which was
released in June.
