JBS S.A., a major meat processing company, is using blockchain technology to help reducing deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, Brazil.
On September 23, it has been reported by Reuters that JBS said that it plans to launch a blockchain-based traceability system for its meat supply chain to ensure it does not buy livestock from farms that are known to have illegally felled trees.
However, the company has previously only monitored the final link in the meat supply chain, meaning any of the reportedly 50,000 ranches in Brazil doing business with JBS could have received cattle from indirect suppliers responsible for illegal deforestation.
#Thursday Headline ➡ JBS S.A. announced on Sept. 23 a plan to help cattle suppliers and to promote and fund conservation of the Amazon rainforest in its home country of Brazil. https://t.co/ZoGpZU7U60 — MeatPoultry.com (@MeatPoultry) September 24, 2020
A July report by UK news outlet The Guardian alleges that the company had been in contact with at least one indirect supplier who had already been sanctioned for cutting down sections of the Amazon to increase the size of its pastures.
JBS’ supply chain tracing system will monitor indirect cattle suppliers who have been sanctioned for cutting down the rainforest https://t.co/czQQYYYgvZ — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) September 23, 2020
After these reports, Gilberto Tomazoni, the CEO of JBS, said that the company plans to monitor all of its indirect cattle suppliers by 2025 using its blockchain tracing system.
He said:
“Currently, the company does not monitor indirect suppliers and no company does so. But we plan to close this gap using technology.”
Likewise, the company plans to start in 2021 in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, which has accounted for 31% of deforestation in the Amazon over the last 20 years.
Thus, JBS has developed similar tracing programs that provide data on its meat supply chain for subsidiaries outside of Brazil.
Source: Cointelegraph