2021 Beef Deforestation Scorecard

The 2021 Beef Deforestation Scorecard by Mighty Earth finds that most global food brands have failed to eliminate deforestation from their beef supply chains despite pledges. While some companies like Tesco and Marks & Spencer show leadership through farm-level traceability and supplier penalties, many others lack beef-specific commitments or fail to monitor indirect suppliers. The report highlights a significant gap between corporate policy and actual implementation, particularly regarding the influence of major Brazilian meatpackers like JBS, Marfrig, and Minerva.

• Global food brands have largely failed to meet their 2020 pledges to eliminate deforestation from beef supply chains, with a significant gap existing between corporate promises and actual action.
• Tesco (65/100) and Marks & Spencer (62/100) were the highest-scoring companies, distinguished by their use of a 'suspend and engage' approach and farm-level traceability.
• Several major retailers, including Rewe (9/100), Aldi Süd (14/100), Ahold Delhaize (19/100), and Auchan Retail (24/100), performed poorly because they lacked beef-specific DCF commitments.
• The beef sector is a primary driver of ecosystem loss, with pasture accounting for 63% of global tree cover loss linked to industrial agriculture between 2001 and 2015.
• Three Brazilian meatpackers – JBS, Marfrig, and Minerva – dominate the sector and are linked to extensive illegal clearance; JBS alone is connected to 100,000 hectares of clearance, 75% of which is presumably illegal.
• Monitoring and verification represent the weakest area for most companies, as many fail to monitor indirect suppliers who are responsible for the majority of deforestation.

APA

Mighty Earth (2021). 2021 Beef Deforestation Scorecard. https://stories.mightyearth.org/2021-beef-deforestation-scorecard/

Chicago

Mighty Earth. 2021 Beef Deforestation Scorecard. 2021. https://stories.mightyearth.org/2021-beef-deforestation-scorecard/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Mighty Earth |title=2021 Beef Deforestation Scorecard |date=2021 |url=https://stories.mightyearth.org/2021-beef-deforestation-scorecard/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mightyearth20212021, author = {{Mighty Earth}}, title = {{2021 Beef Deforestation Scorecard}}, institution = {Mighty Earth}, year = {2021}, url = {https://stories.mightyearth.org/2021-beef-deforestation-scorecard/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }