Cash Cow

Global Witness reports that JBS, the world's largest beef company, continues to source cattle from ranches involved in illegal Amazon deforestation, land-grabbing, and slave labour, despite legal agreements and voluntary pledges. The investigation highlights a 'chain of deforestation complicity' involving Italian leather manufacturer Gruppo Mastrotto, UK supermarkets, and major global banks and credit rating agencies that provide the financial fuel for these operations. The report argues that voluntary due diligence has failed and calls for mandatory legislation in the UK, EU, and US to regulate both commodity imports and the financial sector.

• The investigation identified 470 indirect suppliers for JBS in Pará containing approximately 34,000 hectares of illegal Amazon deforestation in 2020, while a broader group of 1,600 indirect suppliers contained 48,000 hectares of deforestation.
• The Seronni cattle dynasty, a JBS supplier, has a history of severe human rights abuses, including the use of slave labour where workers were forced to work 17-hour shifts, slept with animals, and drank water contaminated with cow manure.
• The Seronnis engaged in 'cattle-laundering' by moving cattle from land-grabbed properties to seemingly 'clean' ranches; for example, Fazenda Boca do Monte sent 1,298 cows to JBS in 2020 from only 120 hectares of pasture, far exceeding the feasible limit of three cows per hectare.
• Italian leather manufacturer Gruppo Mastrotto imported over 200,000kg of leather in 2019 from JBS tanneries in Marabá, Pará, despite having a 0% traceability record for the ranch of origin of its products.
• Major financial institutions, including Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Barclays, JPMorgan, Santander, and BlackRock, have provided billions of dollars in financing to JBS despite their own no-deforestation pledges.
• Credit rating agencies S&P, Moody’s, and Fitch have upgraded JBS's credit ratings without accounting for the company's links to Amazon deforestation.
• UK supermarkets including Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Iceland, and Asda were found to be stocking JBS corned beef from Brazil as of February 2022.

APA

Global Witness (n.d.). Cash Cow. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/cash-cow/

Chicago

Global Witness. Cash Cow. n.d. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/cash-cow/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Witness |title=Cash Cow |url=https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/cash-cow/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalwitnessndcash, author = {{Global Witness}}, title = {{Cash Cow}}, institution = {Global Witness}, url = {https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/cash-cow/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }