The federal public prosecutor in Pará, Daniel Avelino,
followed the supply chain back from the supermarkets through the beef companies to the ranchers to find out which animals had been produced on illegally deforested land,
and threatened the supermarkets with prosecution.
“They reacted fast,” says Mr Avelino.
“It was about their brand, their visibility to the public.”
Brazil’s supermarket association—which includes Walmart
Carrefour—said its members would stop buying beef from recently deforested land.