Lidl, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s among UK supermarkets selling corned beef linked to illegal destruction of Amazon rainforest
SUPERMARKETS have been slammed by environmental investigators for selling beef products from a company linked to the illegal destruction of the Amazon rainforest.
Lidl, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Iceland and Co-Op were all found to be selling cans of corned beef associated with Brazilian company JBS.
The tins included supermarket own-brand labels and ones from food manufacturer Princes.
In May this year, Friends of the Earth went into supermarkets in London and Bristol and cross-linked product codes back to their supply chains.
Their research tied several products back to JBS slaughterhouse and the group claims these are still being sold in UK supermarkets today.
The Amazon rainforest has been ravaged in recent weeks by devastating wildfires with more than 93,000 fires alight, according to the last count from the National Institute of Space Research.
While in July, the rate of deforestation hit its highest rate in a decade.
Official figures from Brazil showed 7,900 sq km of the rainforest was destroyed between August 2017 and July 2018 - the same as roughly five times the size of London.
JBS was fined $7.7million (£6.2million) in 2017 for buying cattle raised on illegally deforested land between 2013 and 2016.
And according to a report from , it is continuing to sell cattle raised on deforested land.
However, the meat supplier has denied this is the case.
Alasdair Cameron, from Friends of the Earth, told The Sun: “It's not something people are used to thinking about, but it's something we need to think about.
"The reason why these fires are happening is to feed the West."
Alasdair said Friends of the Earth didn't have an exact number of products linked to JBS still being sold in the supermarkets.
But they found Princes products associated with the meat supplier in Iceland, Sainsbury's and Waitrose.
While own-brand products linked to JBS were being sold in Morrisons, Co-Op and Lidl.
A spokesperson from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) commenting on behalf of Co-op, Lidl, Sainsbury's and Iceland said: “Illegal deforestation is completely unacceptable, and retailers are collaborating to tackle deforestation and drive greater uptake of certified sustainable products in their supply chains.
“The retail industry understands consumers need assurance that the products they buy are environmentally responsible and do not contribute to deforestation.
“Retailers are working with suppliers to move to more sustainable sourcing by providing them with access to training and more information."
Back in 2018, more than 25 UK retailers joined the BRC in setting a new sustainability action plan to tackle global challenges by 2030.
A Waitrose spokesperson told us: "All our own brand corned beef is 100 per cent British and from farmers we know.
"Princes supplies us with its brand of tinned corned beef and has previously responded to these allegations.
"We take deforestation very seriously and would stop working with any supplier that does not share our values or practice the high standards we expect."
Morrisons has yet to respond.
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Princes denied that the beef they use comes from illegally deforested areas.
A spokesperson said: “We require that all Brazilian sourced beef must come from suppliers that undertake and publish annual independent audits to ensure no purchases are made from farms that have illegally deforested native forests in the Amazon biome after October 2009.”
“We continually review our relationships with all suppliers, including JBS, based on our required standards for our global suppliers, including prohibiting forced labour and illegal deforestation.”
A spokesperson from JBS said it doesn't allow cattle from farms contributing to Amazon deforestation to enter its supply chain.
They told The Sun the company has blocked more than 7,000 potential suppliers due to noncompliance.
The spokesperson added: "JBS has an unwavering commitment to combat, discourage and eliminate deforestation in the Amazon region.
"We have a zero deforestation policy in the Amazon and prohibit cattle from deforested farms in the region from entering our supply chain.
"When a noncompliance with our policies is identified, we take decisive action."
The Sun has rounded up all the latest on the Amazon rainforest fires right here.
It comes as experts warned the Amazon wildfires could push planet to a "point of no return".
A video posted by the country's defence ministry later showed a military plane raining water down onto fires below.
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