Supermarkets deny responsibility for rainforest destruction

British supermarkets have denied being “silent partners to crime” in the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.

Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Marks and Spencer all deny purchasing beef products from cattle raised on illegally deforested land in the Brazilian Amazon.

Their denial follows a three year investigation by Greenpeace, which discovered that meat from the illegally raised cattle is “laundered” to an “unwitting global market” by being processed and packaged into convenience foods and ready meals.

Global sports brands such as Adidas and Nike, as well as shoe retailers such as Clarkes Shoes and Timberland, were implicated in using leather from the hides of cattle raised on deforested land.

Fat from the cattles’ carcasses is used to make toothpaste, face creams, and soap, whilst Gelatin from the bones, intestines and ligaments is used to thicken yoghurt and make chewy sweets.

Global brands and retailers with an “Amazon-contaminated supply chain” include Adidas, BMW, Carrefour, Ford, Honda, Gucci, IKEA, Kraft, Tesco, Toyota and Wal-Mart, Greenpeace’s report said.

“Global brands are silent partners to crime,” Greenpeace said.

“In effect, criminal or ‘dirty’ supplies of cattle are laundered through the supply chain to an unwitting global market,” it added.

The cattle industry is the biggest driver of deforestation in the Amazonian rainforest with 1 hectare (2.5 acres) destroyed for use by cattle ranchers every 18 seconds.

Greenpeace blames the deforestation on the western demand for beef and leather.

Its report calls on western companies to pressurise the Brazilian government to end deforestation.

Currently, Brazilian leaders have pledged to protect the rainforest, yet turn a blind eye to land grabbing by ranchers.

The environmental campaign group is also lobbying the companies named in its report to refuse to buy products sourced from illegally deforested lands, and is encouraging consumers to boycott companies responsible for Amazon deforestation.