The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

Torsten Krause

Torsten Krause

Senior Lecturer, Deputy Director

Torsten Krause

From pastures to plates: The thorny path to achieving deforestation-free cattle from Brazil to European consumers

Author

  • Matías Vaccarezza Sevilla
  • Gino Pedreira Lucchese
  • Torsten Krause
  • Gisele Garcia Alarcon

Summary, in English

The EU regulation on Deforestation-Free Products (EUDR) enacted in 2023 aims to reduce deforestation connected to commodities imported to the EU, including cattle products. In Brazil, the EUDR pressures the local cattle supply chain towards more sustainable production. However, the potential effects of the EUDR on reducing deforestation in this sector are unclear and require scrutiny. Drawing on the concept of Telecoupling, we investigate the challenges and potential impacts of implementing the EUDR in the Brazilian cattle supply chain. We interviewed 19 Brazilian stakeholders representing the private sector, NGOs, investigative journals, banks, and governmental institutions through semi-structured questionnaires complemented with secondary data analysis. Our findings reveal the extent to which historical challenges, such as the lack of law enforcement and low productivity persist, and the possible spillover effects, including market and production leakages. Additionally, the study shows how the EUDR may lead to potential negative impacts for small-scale ranchers. We highlight the need to implement a transparent and integrated public birth-to-slaughter traceability system for cattle in Brazil to guarantee the EUDR's effectiveness. If European and Brazilian governments, cattle producers, and meatpacking companies are not able to address these issues, EUDR's objective to reduce deforestation will be difficult to achieve.

Department/s

  • LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies)
  • BECC: Biodiversity and Ecosystem services in a Changing Climate
  • LU Profile Area: Nature-based future solutions

Publishing year

2025-01-16

Language

English

Publication/Series

Ecological Economics

Volume

230

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Elsevier

Topic

  • Other Social Sciences

Keywords

  • European union deforestation-free regulation (EUDR) Deforestation-free commodities Cattle supply chain Traceability Telecoupling International governance

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0921-8009