Animals fleeing as the forest is swallowed by flames, smoke and scorched earth as far as the eye can see. These images tell the story of the devastation of Brazil ravaged by fires illegally set to make way for intensive livestock farming and soya cultivation. The video report by Animal Equality, the result of research conducted by its investigative team in the forests of the Pantanal and the Cerrado savanna, tells through the voice of singer-songwriter Giorgia a dramatic reality that is destroying an entire ecosystem.

The devastation affects the environment, the climate and animals

In 2020, 29 per cent of the surface area of the Pantanal, the world's largest wetland, was destroyed by fires set almost entirely illegally (99.8 per cent, according to research by MapBiomas). In the same year, the Cerrado was halved: the savanna land that was cleared represents an area comparable in size to Spain, Portugal, Italy and England combined. According to firefighters' accounts, the pace of destruction amounts to thousands of fires every day. A huge blow to Brazil's biodiversity and flood regime, as the country is experiencing its worst drought in forty-five years.

The images gathered along the Transpantaneira, a road that crosses the Pantanal region, bear witness to entire areas destroyed by fire and a severe lack of water that is causing the death of birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles. Many domestic animals (cattle in particular) and wild animals are also showing serious burn injuries. The burns to hooves and paws are so deep that all skin tissue and muscle are lost, exposing the bone. As well as causing intense pain, these severe burns make it impossible for the animals to move properly in search of food and water.

The meat and soya industries are behind deforestation in the Amazon

Understanding the global picture driving this deforestation is necessary in order to make informed choices. According to research carried out by animal protection organisations such as Animal Equality and others including Greenpeace and Wwf, livestock farmers illegally set fires on native land they own, or on state land they encroach upon, in search of new areas to convert into pasture for cattle that will be sent to slaughter and sold as food products on the international market.

The same occurs with the aim of dedicating deforested areas to the cultivation of soya plantations, which make up the majority of the feed given to animals in intensive farms worldwide. According to estimates, intensive farms and industrial slaughterhouses are thus responsible for over 80 per cent of deforestation in Brazilian territory.

Over the past 25 years, in Brazil only 1 per cent of fines for deforestation have been paid, despite the information available to police being sufficient to prosecute some of the producers involved in the fires. But the business behind the exploitation of these lands is enormous. Brazil's Secretariat of Foreign Trade (Secex) reports that revenues from shipments of fresh and processed products in 2020 rose by 11 per cent, reaching 8.4 billion dollars globally.

Italy and the EU also play an important role in the Pantanal fires

From the small Brazilian rancher, through the large meat industry, all the way to our plate, the chain of destruction does not merely graze us — it hits us full on. If Brazil is the world's largest exporter of beef, our country is its largest importer in Europe. In 2020, exports to Italy reached a record 2,016 million tonnes, up 8 per cent on the previous year and continuing to grow in 2021, according to the Italian Trade Agency. This means that Italy, by Etifor's calculations, has driven deforestation associated with meat consumption of between 5,900 and 11,153 hectares per year.

One example of how the global market is exploiting forests is a product considered entirely local in Italy: bresaola. And yet, today 70 per cent of the meat used to produce Igp bresaola uses raw material sourced from South America. One of Italy's leading bresaola producers, Rigamonti, is also directly linked to the meat multinational Jbs, accused of producing on illegally cleared land.

As regards the European Union, Wwf states that one fifth (17 per cent) of beef imported from Brazil is linked to illegal deforestation. According to the study The rotten apples of Brazil's agribusiness, 20 per cent of the soy used in Europe could also come from illegal deforestation.

Animal Equality's appeal

In order to ensure that the EU-Mercosur trade agreement does not worsen animal abuse and environmental destruction linked to the illegal production of beef in Brazil, Animal Equality is calling on the European Union not to ratify the EU-Mercosur trade agreement until the EU adopts appropriate legislation regulating imported products with specific standards for animal welfare and environmental sustainability.

Despite condemnation from EU officials, the illegal production of beef in Brazil continues to be heavily subsidised with public money, fuelling the irreversible destruction of the Amazon, the Cerrado and the Pantanal, as well as the illegal transport and slaughter of millions of animals.