No products from recently deforested land:the EU regulation arrives, but Brazilian farmers already know how to evade it

Meat, coffee, chocolate, palm oil and wood are among the products that will end up at the center of the controls provided for by the regulation approved by the European Parliament

Products that come from deforested or degraded areas where trees were cut down after 31 December 2020 cannot be sold within the Union.With 552 votes in favour, 44 against and 43 abstentions, the European Parliament approved the regulation, on the basis ofagreement found last December.After further discussion in the Council, the plenary vote arrived.The companies that market these goods will guarantee compliance with the standard, who will also have to certify that they have not transgressed the laws on deforestation of the countries of origin.The new rule looks at livestock, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soya and timber, and extends to anything containing or made using these products – such as leather, chocolate and furniture – and the animals that live in them. they are fed.From December to today, rubber, charcoal, paper and various palm oil derivatives have also been added, we read in the communicated of the European Chamber.All that is missing now is the formal approval of the Council.

The controls

The checks will not be the same for everyone, but will follow the indications of the Commission, which will classify the countries and their regions into risk bands:high, medium, and low.The proportion of assets controlled will vary accordingly.9% for countries or regions considered high risk, 3% for standard risk, and 1% for low risk.For the checks, the authorities will have to use GPS localization, satellite images and genetic analysis.The fines for those who do not comply with the new regulation cannot be less than 4% of the importing company's turnover.“Until now, our supermarket shelves have been too often filled with products covered in the ashes of burnt rainforests and irreversibly destroyed ecosystems with damage to plants and animals, but also to indigenous populations,” commented Luxembourg MEP Christophe Hansen.

The increase in deforestation

This, however, may be one of those cases where deception is found before the law.The EU is not the only body that has introduced measures in recent months to reduce its indirect impact on deforestation.In January last year, for example, several supermarket chains - Sainsbury's and the Belgian branch of Carrefour, the French branch of Auchan and the Dutch branch of Lidl - have reduced or eliminated the resale of meat from South America entirely.Nonetheless, the Brazilian Amazon forest continues to be razed to the ground at an astonishing rate.Only in February 2023, for example, were they in Brazil 320 square kilometers destroyed of forest.Absolute record in a single month.

Livestock recycling

If this continues to happen, it is also due to the practice of livestock recycling.Animals that grow and graze on recently deforested land are moved to a safe lot – i.e. deforested much longer – before being shipped or slaughtered.In this way, the documents do not show that their meat and skins come from deforestation.Consumers are often unaware of all this, as Milena Gabanelli pointed out in an article dataroom of 2019, in which he illustrated how 50% of the 25 thousand tons of meat that Italy imported from Brazil was used to produce Bresaole della Valtellina PGI.It will be seen whether the careful controls provided for in European law will be able to put a stop to the phenomenon.