Brazil: 200 organizations urge the IDB to withdraw loan for Marfrig due to alleged involvement with deforestation, corruption and indigenous rights violations
"200 NGOs Worldwide Oppose Public Funding of Brazilian Meat Giant Marfrig", 19 October 2021
...200 environmental, human rights and development advocacy groups today urged the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to withdraw its proposed Invest loan for Marfrig Global Foods...
...The loan would support implementation of Marfrig’s “Plano Verde+”, which purports to deliver deforestation-free livestock production by 2025 in the Amazon, and by 2030 in the Cerrado. These are among the most important yet exploited ecosystems in Brazil.
However, letter signatories state that the new IDB loan could open up giant swaths of threatened forest ecosystems for legal and illegal clearing for years to come, citing potential bank policy violations. They also point out that the plan’s loopholes and distant targets, along with Marfrig’s prior failed promises and lack of an effective tracking system for its full supply chain, give the plan little credence...
The IDB is expected to announce its final decision on the Marfrig loan in December 2021...
In 2020, a report released by Global Witness found Marfrig systematically bought cattle from illegally deforested areas in the Amazon. The company, which owns an 81% stake in the U.S.-based National Beef Packing Company (NBEEF.UL), has also come under fire for corruption, human rights violations and other devastating social and environmental impacts in Brazil...