Update
European supermarkets turn their back on beef linked to Amazon deforestation
EU supermarkets turn their back on beef linked to Amazon deforestation
In response to surging deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon and a new investigation documenting their ties to deforestation, major supermarket chains in the UK, France, Belgium and the Netherlands have announced they were dropping Brazilian beef altogether and/or beef products tied to JBS, the world’s largest beef company.
The move comes following a new investigation by Repórter Brasil in partnership with Mighty Earth that tracked deforestation-linked beef in the Brazilian Amazon and the Pantanal tropical wetlands to European retail store shelves, in the form of beef jerky, corned beef and fresh prime cuts. Mighty Earth alerted the retailers and companies to the deforestation links in advance of publication, resulting in this raft of new announcements.
UK: See the investigation of Sainbury's and corned beef
Belgium: See the investigation of Carrefour Belgium and Jack Link’s Beef Jerky
The Netherlands: See the investigation of Lidl Netherlands and ribeye beef steaks
The Netherlands: See the investigation of Ahold companies and beef products in Belgium, the Netherlands and US
EU Makes Unprecedented Move: No More Illegal OR Legal Deforestation for EU Products
EU Makes Unprecedented Move: No More Illegal OR Legal Deforestation for EU Products
Still Needed: Protections for Other Native Ecosystems
EMBARGOED UNTIL 17 November 2021, 12:30 CET
Today, the European Commission published a draft law to ensure agricultural products sold in the Union are free of deforestation. In a landmark move, the EU legislative proposal addresses both legal and illegal deforestation in producing countries. This is a world first: it sets an international precedent in the fight against deforestation, and provides an important incentive to protect the planet’s remaining forests.
“The EU draft anti-deforestation law represents a major leap forward in the fight to protect the world’s endangered forests,” said Nico Muzi, Europe Director of Mighty Earth. “The EU is sending a clear message to major supermarkets and retailers: one of the largest economies in the world simply won’t accept agricultural products linked to deforestation.
However, Mighty Earth cautioned that the draft law has three major loopholes that could substantially weaken its impact even as deforestation in the Amazon surges. First, the draft law doesn’t cover the destruction of vital, carbon-rich natural ecosystems such as savannahs, wetlands and peatlands; second, the Commission plan fails to protect the rights of Indigenous peoples to their ancestral lands even though multiple studies show that Indigenous territories are often the best protected; and third, the proposal excludes rubber, which has been a significant driver of deforestation.
“This law will make companies like Cargill think twice about purchasing agricultural goods linked to deforestation,” said Muzi. “But it must be strengthened if the EU is serious about fulfilling its COP26 pledge to end deforestation by 2030. It pointlessly leaves out carbon-rich natural ecosystems such as Brazil’s Cerrado and Southeast Asia’s peatland – as well as rubber, an important forest-risk commodity. It also misses the opportunity to protect indigenous peoples, who are some of the best defenders of the land.
“There’s no reason European consumers should have to worry that the chicken they’re cooking is linked to the destruction of our most precious ecosystems,” said Muzi. “There’s simply no need to destroy native ecosystems to make room for commercial crops. There are more than one billion acres of previously degraded land where all future agricultural needs can easily be met without threatening the world’s last ecosystems. We therefore urge the European Parliament to close those huge loopholes in order to protect European consumers from nature destruction and human rights violations.”
Demand for a strong EU law across society
Shoppers in Europe have said again and again they don’t want to buy food linked to the bulldozing of natural ecosystems. Four in five Europeans think that governments should oblige supermarkets to act on deforestation. In fact, a record 1.2 million citizens urged the Commission to go beyond forest protection and include natural ecosystems such as savannas, wetlands and peatland in the law. The comment period was the second most participated-in public consultation in the history of the EU
And because their customers are demanding deforestation- and conversion-free products, businesses also support strong regulation. In May, over 70 big companies such as supermarket chains Carrefour and Lidl, foodmakers Danone and Ferrero, cosmetics brands L’Oreal and The Body Shop (and even Groupe Avril, France’s largest animal feed producer) urged the EU to protect natural ecosystems.
A year ago, the European Parliament adopted a legislative initiative report urging the European Commission to propose a strong anti-deforestation law.
The link between EU consumption and global deforestation
Europe is one of the largest drivers of global deforestation in the world, second only to China. The EU is responsible for 16 percent of tropical deforestation through the imports of commodities such as beef, soy, palm oil, rubber, timber, cacao and coffee and their derived products.
Agriculture drives almost 90 percent of tropical deforestation, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Soy traders Cargill and Bunge and meatpackers JBS and Marfrig are among the worst forest destroyers in Brazil.
The draft law obliges all companies importing and trading with the six agricultural commodities (beef, soy, palm oil, wood, cocoa and coffee) to conduct due diligence to ensure products sold in the single market are deforestation-free.
ENDS
Notes to the Editor:
Why do we need to protect savannahs, wetlands and peatlands?
Savannahs, wetlands and peatlands support the livelihoods of Indigenous peoples, are home to wildlife, including critically endangered species, and are massive carbon sinks.
Around 70% of the forest destruction associated with EU soy imports was concentrated in one critical biome, Brazil’s Cerrado. The Cerrado is a woody tropical savannah that scientists describe it as an ‘upside-down forest’ because its root system is immense and stores around 13.7 billion tons of carbon dioxide.
This means that if the Commission sets out to only protect ecosystems strictly defined as “forests”, soy and beef expansion in South America will keep shifting from the Amazon basin to the Cerrado, exacerbating deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, violence and human rights violations. The same could be expected for palm oil, which will expand further into peatlands.
Why rubber?
It's vital that rubber is included in the EU deforestation law. As a key deforestation-risk commodity, rubber was responsible for over 5 million hectares of deforestation over recent years and rubber's expansion in tropical countries has had a devastating impact on millions of hectares of forests, ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural habitats, as well as the rights and livelihoods of hundreds of local and Indigenous communities. Rubber is used mainly in auto tires, but is also found in numerous products like boots, mats, condoms, gloves, and apparel. With global rubber demand forecast to boom by 33% by 2030, and widespread deforestation and species extinction predicted, key industry associations like the ETRMA - which represent giant tire companies like Michelin and, Continental and Pirelli - recently publicly stated that they favour mandatory due diligence and always believed rubber would be in the EU’s legislation.
The decision to exclude rubber was based on flawed data, according to the academics whose research was used by the European Commission.
Why upholding international human rights laws?
The Commission’s plan fails to protect international human rights, in particular to ensure that the lands of indigenous peoples and local communities are protected. Instead, it relies on national laws of producing countries. This is problematic as recent developments in Brazil and Congo show how even those national laws are under attack.
About Mighty Earth
Mighty Earth is a global environmental campaign organization that works to protect forests, conserve oceans, and address climate change. We work in to drive large-scale action towards environmentally responsible agriculture that protects native ecosystems, wildlife, and water, and respects local community rights.
More information on Mighty Earth can be found at www.mightyearth.org/.
EU Transparency Register: 169821638625-38
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Contact details:
Nico Muzi – [email protected]
+32 484 27 87 91
Jardines Caught Clearing Forest NOW in Rare Orangutan Habitat
Jardines Caught Clearing Forest NOW in Rare Orangutan Habitat
New Satellite Imagery Shows October 2021 Clearing
Mighty Earth has exposed a new threat to the rarest great ape on the planet, and the world is watching. The critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan of northern Sumatra was just identified in 2017 and fewer than 800 exist in the world, but satellite imagery from the past two weeks shows their habitat being eaten away by deforestation.
Since 2018, the Martabe gold mine in northern Sumatra has been owned by United Tractors, through Astra International, a subsidiary of British conglomerate Jardine Matheson. And Since February of this year, the company has been in talks over a plan to conduct an impact assessment of the gold mine on Tapanuli orangutan habitat -- but while talks have dragged on for months, this new evidence shows deforestation continuing the whole time. The investigation was covered by the Financial Times.
“One could look at the continued expansion and it suggests they are engaging in bad faith. This is a species on the brink of extinction.”
-- Amanda Hurowitz, senior adviser with Mighty Earth
“[I am] surprised and disappointed. While you are negotiating, they are continuing to fight and gain advantage. From what what I can see, there is significant clearance of what was natural forest.”
-- Ian Redmond, biologist and conservationist known for his work with great apes
When the Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis) was identified in 2017, it was the first time since the 1920s that a new species of great ape had been discovered. The 1100 sq km Batang Toru Ecosystem is their only home. It is also home to the critically endangered Sumatran tiger, pangolin and helmeted hornbill. Sun bears, tapir, serow and a host of other rare endangered species, including more than 300 bird species, also rely on this habitat.
In all recorded human history, no great ape has been made extinct. This is one of humanity’s closest relatives, and we now have only a small window left before it’s too late to save them.
Myanmar Security Forces: Stop Violent Attacks on Peaceful Demonstrators
Killings of Unarmed Civilians Demand Urgent Investigation & Accountability
Mighty Earth calls on Myanmar security forces to immediately cease violent attacks on peaceful protesters that have resulted in multiple deaths and injuries of unarmed civilians in the past 72 hours in cities across the country. We are dismayed by reports from multiple credible sources – including the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights – that “ police and military forces have confronted peaceful demonstrations, using lethal force and less-than-lethal force that…has left at least 18 people dead and over 30 wounded.”
We stand with the people of Myanmar in asserting that they should not be subjected to lethal force merely for peacefully exercising their universal human rights of freedom of expression and freedom of association. We urge Myanmar’s military leadership to work with the country’s democratically elected officials and civil society to establish a clear and rapid return to civilian rule. Myanmar’s forests and the rights of its people depend on a legitimate government.
“The peaceful exercise of the universal human rights of freedom of expression, assembly and association anywhere in the world, but particularly Myanmar at this moment, requires respect and protection, not extrajudicial executions by security forces who fail in their obligation to honor such basic freedoms,” said Glenn Hurowitz, Chief Executive Officer at Mighty Earth. “The Myanmar military leadership must respect the rights and legitimate democratic aspirations of the Myanmar people, or face global pariah status for choosing unlawful violence over peaceful engagement.”
Henry Waxman Honored with a "Baldy Award"
"Mighty Earth Chairman Henry Waxman has been honored with Bill Maher's inaugural "Baldy Award."
As Maher quotes, “50 percent of the social safety net was created by Henry Waxman when no one was looking.” And that’s the thing about being a workhorse instead of a show horse: no one is looking.
Ultimately, that’s the spirit we’re striving to emulate at Mighty Earth – drive transformative impact even if no one is looking.
See Maher's announcement here:
Indonesian Coalition Urges Government to Save Tapanuli Orangutan, Protect “Wonderful Indonesia”
Indonesian Coalition Urges Government to Save Tapanuli Orangutan, Protect “Wonderful Indonesia”
Controversial US$ 1.6 billion dam project backed by China and Dharmawangsa Group threatens extinction of the rare Pongo tapanuliensis orangutan
JAKARTA, INDONESIA – The stage is set for a crucial showdown in a long-running battle to save a newly discovered rare species of orangutan from possible extinction at the hands of a planned US$ 1.6 billion hydroelectric dam project. The state administrative court in Medan ruled Monday in narrow terms that it would not halt the construction of the dam. In the wake of that decision, a coalition of Indonesian organizations and international leaders is calling on the government to cancel the dam project and protect the ecosystem for the long term.
A letter urging cancellation of the project was delivered today to President Joko Widodo. Signatories include representatives of the Orangutan Information Centre, Center for Orangutan Protection, PUSAKA, Yayasan HAkA, FOKUS, Madani, Sawit Watch; international leaders including former U.S. Congressman Henry Waxman (Mighty Earth, Chairman), former U.S. Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke, former U.S. Congressman and Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Howard Berman, former U.S. Congressman George Miller, the Honorable Zac Goldsmith (MP United Kingdom), former U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Robert Blake, Jr. (Board Co-Chair, US-Indonesia Society), former U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Cameron Hume, and more.
The proposed dam project, being constructed on the Batang Toru River, North Sumatra, by Chinese hydroelectric giant Sinohydro with financing from the Bank of China threatens the newly discovered Tapanuli orangutan species, as well as thousands of local people whose livelihoods will be put at risk.
The Tapanuli orangutan was only identified as a new species in 2017, the seventh great ape species in the world. Despite being newly identified, it is already perilously close to extinction with a population now numbering less than 800 individuals. It is estimated that the population has almost halved since 1985, and that it will continue to decline unless comprehensive protection measures are implemented.
The US$ 1.6 billion hydroelectric power plant, the largest on the island of Sumatra, is scheduled for completion by 2022. However, the dam was planned before the identification of the Tapanuli orangutan – meaning the environmental planning process didn’t consider the risk of extinction to this species.
The ownership of the project, considered part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, is a maze of overlapping Indonesian and Chinese entities, Chinese finance, and the Chinese state-owned company Sinohydro.
“Chinese investment has the potential to do a lot of good, but this project risks tarring the reputation of the Belt and Road Initiative,” said Panut Hadisiwoyo, Founding Director of the Orangutan Information Centre (OIC). “We hope that the Chinese government will reconsider this project in light of the discovery of the Tapanuli orangutan: can you imagine a foreign-funded project that threatens the Giant Panda with extinction ever being approved?”
One potential beneficiary of the dam is the nearby the Martabe gold mine, which is currently set to expand further into Tapanuli orangutan habitat. The mine is owned by a subsidiary of the giant British conglomerate Jardines Matheson, which has previously been criticized for its palm oil subsidiary’s tens of thousands of acres of deforestation of Sumatran orangutan habitat.
“Jardines has already profited from destroying tens of thousands of acres of Indonesian forests, and now it’s trying to mine gold that would forever be linked to the deaths of Tapanuli orangutans,” said Glenn Hurowitz, CEO Mighty Earth, an organization that has urged Jardines to help protect the Tapanuli. “Nobody wants to buy a gold necklace or wedding ring that is associated with killing an endangered species.”
The Dharma Hydro company, part of the Dharmawangsa Group, is also linked to the project. Dharma Hydro is the largest shareholder in North Sumatra Hydro Energy (NSHE), the company behind the dam project. Paradoxically, even as it helps develop a dam that would inundate habitat of the world’s rarest great ape, the Dharmawangsa Group is marketing a new resort it is developing on the island of Beilitung as an “eco resort.”
Environmental assessments have found that the construction and operation of the dam and power plant will also threaten the livelihoods of thousands of downstream local residents who rely on the river’s ecosystem for their survival for fisheries, agriculture, transport, and daily water needs.
“The Indonesian government spends millions of dollars on advertising to promote our natural treasures through the ‘Wonderful Indonesia’ campaign,” said Hardi Baktiantoro from Center of Orangutan Protection, who also joined the interview. “President Jokowi should protect that investment by focusing on responsible energy and infrastructure projects that can meet our power needs while protecting Indonesia’s wildlife.”
These enormous threats likely would come with few benefits. The dam has among the lowest benefit-to-cost ratios of any planned hydro-energy project in the region. It would operate only during peak times and carries projected cost of over US$1.6 billion. NSHE is also planning to build the dam in an area of intense geological activity, putting the project and surrounding communities at risk of earthquakes with potentially catastrophic consequences.
Reports have documented that there is no pressing need for the energy that would be produced by the dam and shown that there are viable alternatives for energy production in the region. For example, the nearby 330 MW Sarulla geothermal project produces clean energy and can be upgraded to 1 GW if needed to meet the flexible or peak load power needs the dam is supposedly designed to address – and all without posing a risk to the Tapanuli orangutan.
“Indonesia can meet its infrastructure and energy needs without threatening the Tapanuli orangutan or wasting massive amounts of money on the Batang Toru dam – there are options for geothermal, solar power, or even smaller, less expensive and damaging hydro projects,” said Arrum from Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme. “Ultimately, it is going to be us, the Indonesian people, that will have to pay back this enormous loan in our electricity bills”.
Further information, please contact:
Image Dynamics
Ayunda Putri
+62 8122 00 1411 (phone & text) / +62 8977 400 788 (whatsApp)
In a hot world, companies may be the last, best hope
In a Hot World, Companies May Be The Last, Best Hope
From: Glenn Hurowitz, Mighty Earth CEO |Re: Mighty Earth Update| October 8, 2018
The world’s leading scientific climate change body, the IPCC, today released a report showing that there is even more urgency to addressing climate change than the world’s scientists had previously thought: that the world must cut pollution by 45 percent by 2030, and reach net zero pollution fifteen years after that. It’s the difference between having some coral reefs survive and virtually none at all; of agriculture surviving across vast swathes of the Earth, or mass wildlife and desertification; the world’s plants would have double a chance of holding onto more than half their habitat; and even oceans would lose 1.5 million tons of their fish. The report makes clear in its sober language that these are life and death questions.
At the same time that the rising heat demands the actions of our whole societies, many governments are turning their back on the environment. The United States official take on climate change is now that it’s so bad that’s there no chance of stopping it, so we might as well just burn as many fossil fuels as possible. Brazil seems poised to elect a leader who has vowed to join Trump in rejecting the Paris climate accord, putting the country’s forests and agricultural viability at risk. And even countries like Japan, which formerly led the way toward action, are subsidizing the burning of coal and palm oil at home and around the world. While other governments such as China and Europe have redoubled their commitments to action, this is a global problem, and they alone won’t be sufficient.
But although the media focuses on the primary role of government, let us not forget that for the most part it is not governments that do the polluting or deforesting, but companies. Just because governments aren’t doing their job, doesn’t mean the job can’t be done. Indeed, some of the world’s greatest environmental successes have been achieved by companies acting either from their own sense of responsibility, or spurred by customers, investors, and society more broadly – often in ways that end up changing government. The big soy traders have for 10 years protected part of the Amazon when their customers demanded they do so; companies like Apple, Facebook, Google and Amazon have shifted to 100% clean energy; 274 coal plants in the United States have been slated for retirement or stopped by Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign; investors representing $6 trillion have committed to divest from fossil fuels; and previously notorious paper companies protected millions of acres of Canada’s forests.
No matter how far into a wonderland of suicidal auto-delusion governments descend, companies retain the power to act. But there is no excuse for private sector lack of urgency, nor backstop if it fails. We have a dozen years. That means companies like Cargill have to get serious and jettison their absurd 2030 deadline for ending deforestation, and industries like steel, cement, oil, and chemicals that have previously taken few steps to reduce their emissions must get started today on the shift to 100% clean energy and carbon neutrality.
How We’re Driving Company Action Even in Red States
Here’s why we know it’s possible. We’re seeing citizens pour out to demand that companies stop polluting even in the “reddest” parts of the United States. Our campaign to transform the US meat industry to stop pollution and destruction of native ecosystems has struck a chord across the political spectrum. In Haywood County, Tennessee, we helped turn dozens ofpeople out to town meetings to object to Tyson’s expansion plans, many of them wearing “Tyson: Don’t Tread on Tennessee” t-shirts. In response to citizens’ outcry, a frontpage story in the area newspaper reported that Tyson is pulling the plug on its meat factory plans – a major victory. We will continue working with communities in Tennessee to ensure Tyson sticks to its commitment.
In the days following the decision, two local volunteers who’ve been working with Mighty Earth were elected to public office on promises to fight concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) – one became County Mayor, and the other was elected to the County Commission that oversees zoning.
All of our volunteers will be releasing our new Flunking the Planet report about how most major supermarkets and fast food restaurants – including ones that brand themselves as sustainability leaders like Whole Foods – have zero environmental policies in place for the meat they purchase – even though meat is typically by far the greatest driver of environmental impact of any product they sell. Indeed, Whole Foods purchases meat from many of the same sources as McDonald’s, including notorious polluters Tyson Foods and Cargill. Interestingly, the only exception was Wal-mart, which has taken important but modest steps to improve practices for how animal feed is grown and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
A world away in Bolivia, citizens and politicians alike are acting to demand that international companies like Cargill and ADM stop exploiting their natural resources and people. On behalf of more than 100 Bolivian civil society organizations, indigenous organizations, and other representatives, 18 Members of Bolivia’s national and state legislatures and mayors to the world’s leading meat companies asking them to stop companies like Cargill from destroying Bolivia’s forests, and instead focus development on Bolivia’s 11 million acres of degraded lands.
Finally, I’m excited to announce that two impressive advocates are joining our forests team to help us persuade companies and governments to bring the needed urgency to this work. Mat Jacobson is our new Senior Forest Director, and will oversee our forest programs. He comes to Mighty Earth after almost 20 years in senior positions at the Pew Charitable Trusts and elsewhere. Amongst his many accomplishments, Mat was instrumental in securing the protection of more than 50 million acres of America’s last intact roadless forests under the Clinton administration, helped secure commitments to protect hundreds of millions of acres in the Boreal Forests of Canada, and was instrumental in the integration of Indigenous perspectives on nature into World Heritage policies and guidelines.
Abdul Tejan-Cole, a celebrated human rights lawyer and advocate, has joined us as our new Senior Director for Africa. He previously served as the Executive Director of the Open Society Institute’s West Africa Initiative, and as head of Sierra Leone’s anti-corruption commission, where he successfully prosecuted a number of high-level cases in fisheries and maritime issues. He has served as Secretary General, Vice President, and President of the Sierra Leone Bar Association, as well as president of the West Africa Bar Association. Abdul was also a war crimes prosecutor in the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and has been Board Chair of West Africa Democracy Radio and Timap for Justice. Environmental and land rights protection have been a long-time passion for Abdul.