Brazilian authorities have announced fines for 14 companies that buy beef from slave labor farms, or ranches illegally exploiting deforested areas in the Amazon.
The punishment includes the Ministry of Environment, which is accused of not fulfilling its supervising duties.
“We’ve been gathering proof for over a year, and through this time we tried to have these companies commit to an agreement to not buy beef from illegal deforestation haciendas, or slave labor farms,” said Attorney General Anselmo Henrique Cordeiro Lopes “but time passed, and they just wouldn’t sign it.
Cattle ranches are estimated to have caused 80% of recent deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.
