Responding to the news that Brazil has recorded a 13-year high in fire hotspots for the month of June, Anna Jones, Greenpeace UK Head of Forests, said:
“These fires are no accident. Brazil’s President, Jair Bolsonaro, has done nothing to discourage ranchers and land grabbers to stop deforesting the Amazon. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, deforestation has soared and now we are seeing fires deliberately lit to clear that land for industrial agriculture.
“This is just the beginning. Over the next few months, unless we see strong intervention, fires will be likely to increase and engulf vast areas of forest, endangering the lives of Indigenous Peoples, wildlife and worsening the climate crisis globally.
“But let’s not forget – just a few weeks ago, more than 40 companies, including several British supermarkets, signed a letter [1] to the Brazilian Congress expressing their concern about Amazon fires and deforestation. Those supermarkets will be judged on how they respond to this unfolding crisis. They all sell high volumes of industrial meat, much of which is connected to deforestation in forests like the Amazon. It’s time supermarkets dropped forest destroyers and replaced industrial meat with plant based options – it’s vital if we’re to reduce our impact on the climate, people and wildlife.”
Contact Alison Kirkman akirkman@greenpeace.org 07896 893154
ENDS
Notes
[1] Letter led by the Retail Soy Group https://www.retailsoygroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Letter-from-Business-on-Amazon.pdf
