BRAZIL – Brazil’s environmental agency has fined 23 meatpacking companies and their suppliers $64 million for buying and selling livestock raised illegally on deforested lands in the Amazon.

The operation, called Cold Meat 2, was launched last week. It tracked 18,000 head of cattle raised on 260 square kilometers of pastures that have been banned from commercial use due to illegal deforestation. Officers also apprehended 8,854 head of livestock found inside restricted areas. News of the fines began to emerge over the weekend.

Cattle farming is the main driver of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, with 90% of the area cleared between 1985 and 2023 converted to pasture. This represents 590,000 square kilometers, a little more than France. As a result, 14 percent of the Amazon is covered in pastureland, according to MapBiomas, a network of nongovernmental organizations that monitor land use.

“We are inspecting the production chain to hold offenders accountable for acquiring products from deforestation and to ensure that crime does not pay,” Jair Schmitt, head of forest protection, told the Associated Press. environment at Brazil’s federal environmental agency, known as Ibama.

Among those fined was JBS, the world’s largest meatpacking company. JBS has requested to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, a move that was opposed by some U.S. lawmakers and environmental nonprofits. It is not yet clear when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission might make a decision regarding the JBS offer.

JBS’s fine was $108,000 for the purchase of 1,231 head of cattle, the fifth largest penalty among fined companies.

This operation follows three months of investigation by Ibama’s intelligence services and constitutes the latest episode linking JBS to illegal deforestation. In December, AP revealed that she faces legal action for allegedly purchasing illegally raised livestock in Jaci-Parana, a protected area in the Brazilian Amazon.

In a statement, JBS denied purchasing livestock from embargoed areas and said it had already submitted documents to Ibama demonstrating their legal origin. However, the company declined to comment on Jaci-Parana’s case despite repeated requests for clarification from AP since the story was published.

“JBS has maintained its responsible sourcing policy for 15 years and has a geospatial monitoring system to ensure that the company does not purchase animals from farms involved in illegal deforestation, encroachment on indigenous lands or conservation areas embargoed by Ibama.” read the statement.

Agropam, a meatpacker in the city of Boca do Acre, received the largest fine, $493,000, for purchasing 5,624 head of cattle in illegal areas. The company, which operates under the name Frizam, sells beef only for the Brazilian domestic market. A message seeking comment was not returned.

Other large companies targeted were Mafrico, Frigol and 163 Beef. Mafrico and Frigo did not respond to requests for comment left by telephone and on their websites. Contact information for 163 Beef was not immediately available because the numbers on its Facebook page were disconnected.

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