Fully traceable deforestation-free beef and leather? Argentina has it, and can calculate its greenhouse gas footprint, too.

A proof of concept conducted by WWF and partners in Argentina's Santa Fe province successfully traced beef and leather from birth to export, ensuring they were deforestation-free based on a December 31, 2020 cut-off date. The project issued 30 certificates for meat and 22 for leather, facilitating exports to the European Union and China. Alongside this, a carbon calculator was developed to measure cradle-to-export carbon intensity, incorporating land use change and farm-level data. While the system is robust, challenges were identified regarding georeferencing gaps in the SENASA database and the technical difficulty of tracing hides after ear tags are removed. The project led to the creation of the 'Santa Fe Process Verified Program (SFPVLA)' and provides a model for national scaling in Argentina and potential application in Brazil and Paraguay.

• A proof of concept in Santa Fe province proved that beef and leather can be traced from birth to processing and exported as verified deforestation-free, with successful shipments made to China and the European Union.
• The project resulted in the issuance of 30 deforestation-free certificates for meat and 22 for leather, covering 181 cows and 627 steers from five farms, and led to the establishment of the 'Santa Fe Process Verified Program (SFPVLA)' which enforces a zero-deforestation standard as of December 2020.
• WWF developed a carbon calculator to measure the carbon intensity of beef and leather supply chains, including land use change and farm-level data; this tool revealed that improved pasture and manure management can increase productivity while lowering carbon intensity.
• Technical challenges to scaling the system nationally include georeferencing gaps in the National Food Safety and Quality Service (SENASA) database—affecting less than 2% of nearly 180,000 polygons—and the difficulty of tracing hides once animal ear tags are removed.

APA

WWF International (n.d.). Fully traceable deforestation-free beef and leather? Argentina has it, and can calculate its greenhouse gas footprint, too. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/787/on5rm6lm0_DEVINE_CANAVAN_DCF_2_Pager_09_23_v4.pdf

Chicago

WWF International. Fully traceable deforestation-free beef and leather? Argentina has it, and can calculate its greenhouse gas footprint, too. n.d. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/787/on5rm6lm0_DEVINE_CANAVAN_DCF_2_Pager_09_23_v4.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF International |title=Fully traceable deforestation-free beef and leather? Argentina has it, and can calculate its greenhouse gas footprint, too. |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/787/on5rm6lm0_DEVINE_CANAVAN_DCF_2_Pager_09_23_v4.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfinternationalndfully, author = {{WWF International}}, title = {{Fully traceable deforestation-free beef and leather? Argentina has it, and can calculate its greenhouse gas footprint, too.}}, institution = {WWF International}, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/787/on5rm6lm0_DEVINE_CANAVAN_DCF_2_Pager_09_23_v4.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }