Three civil society organizations are calling on the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control in Germany to investigate the due diligence of three meat companies.
The investigation concerns the ‘supply-chain’ of soya arriving from Brazil. In light of the ‘high risk’ of connections with land robberies, deforestation and pesticide abuse. (1)
1) Germany, ‘Supply Chain Act’
German national law on due diligence of large companies (‘Gesetz über die unternehmerischen Sorgfaltspflichten in Lieferketten’, also known as the ‘Supply Chain Act’) came into force on 1 January 2023. This law defines the responsibility of German companies to monitor compliance with the following in global supply chains:
– fundamental human rights (i.e. protection from ‘land grabbing’, understood as the acquisition of land without the free, prior and informed consent of the inhabitants of the territories);
– workers’ rights (e.g. trade union rights, fair compensation, workplace safety; prohibitions on child labour, slavery, discrimination);
– environmental protection (i.e. deforestation, abuse of pesticides that can contaminate local water reserves). (2)
1.1) Responsibility of large companies
‘Supply Chain Act’ applies to companies with more than 3.000 employees from 1 January 2023, and to those with more than 1.000 employees from 1 January 2024. Corporations are responsible for:
– identify, assess and prioritise human rights and environmental risks in their supply chain activities, taking into account business partners as well as indirect suppliers;
– publish a corporate policy statement and take measures to prevent or minimize human rights violations and damage to the environment;
– establish procedures for the collection and management of complaints, documentation and regular reporting on supply chain management. In line with the provisions of Corporate Sustainability Reporting Director (EU) No 2022/2464 (CSRD). (3)
2) Due diligence, investigation into three meat industries in Germany
The non-profits organizations ClientEarth, Environmental Action Germany and Mighty Earth have filed a report with the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control regarding possible violations of the Supply Chain Act by producers of three of the largest meat producers in Germany:
– Tönnies and Westfleisch, pork producers, €6,8 billion and €3,35 billion turnover respectively in 2023
– Rothkötter, feed and poultry producer, €1,5 billion turnover (2023).
The investigation–based on a study conducted in 2023 with the help of two Brazilian associations (4)–suggests the existence of a ‘high risk’ that the soy supplied to the aforementioned meat producers comes from areas subject to land grabbing, deforestation and large-scale pesticide abuse, with serious environmental impact.
3) Unsustainable soy, the supplier Bunge
The soy subject of the investigation, according to Mighty Earth and Environmental Action Germany, was grown in the Cerrado savannah in Brazil. (5) Then imported into the EU via the Netherlands and distributed in Germany to the largest feed industries and livestock companies. The shipping routes would also show ‘probable connections’ between the three aforementioned German meat industries and the giant Bunge.
Bunge–one of the four corporations that dominate the global commodities market, as seen (6)–is responsible for approximately a quarter of all Brazilian soy imports from the Cerrado to Germany, according to the non-profit organization’s report.
‘Several studies highlight the high risk of human rights abuses and environmental destruction associated with Bunge’s supply chains’. The report refers to a ‘direct link’ of Bunge to deforestation in the Cerrado of an area equivalent to about 15.900 football fields. In addition to ‘land conflicts, land grabbing and violation of the territorial rights of traditional peoples and communities’, documented (also and) right in the Cerrado.
4) Unsustainable soy, buyers’ responsibilities
The responsability of the three German meat industries is identified, according to the complainants, in the failure to implement the due diligence measures necessary to prevent or mitigate the risks identified above. In particular:
– neither Tönnies nor Westfleisch report risks of land-grabbing, deforestation and health risks associated with the (ab)use of pesticides in their soy supply chains, as required by the ‘Supply Chain Act’
– Rothkötter in turn ‘cites some significant risks in broad statements and vague commitments’.
5) Precedents and perspectives
The violations of ‘due diligence’ duties on supply chains – with regard to crimes against humanity and the environment – are set to emerge more frequently. Already in 2022 in France, one of the first countries to introduce such responsibilities, Carrefour and BNP Paribas were accused of ‘complicity’ with irresponsible suppliers of beef from Brazil. (7)
The pressure of non-profit organizations such as Mighty Earth and many others is set to grow, as has been observed in numerous initiatives involving major supermarket chains in the EU and UK. (8) Even more so in the soya, palm oil, beef, cocoa, coffee, timber and rubber supply chains thanks to European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). (9,10).
Dario Dongo
Footnotes
(1) German authorities urged to investigate top three meat companies over human rights risks in Brazil. Mighty Earth. 30.10.24 https://tinyurl.com/3cefc6s5
(2) Supply Chain Act. Federal ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Germany https://tinyurl.com/44pp4xr4
(3) Dario Dongo, Alessandra Mei. CSR, European Sustainability Reporting Standard. The new obligations for businesses. FT (Food Times). 3.7.23
(4) Mighty Earth, Environmental Action Germany, Associação de Advogados de Trabalhadores Rurais, Instituto Societade, População e Natureza. Soy Story: The Sad Truth Behind the Making of the German Schnitzel. October 2024 https://www.duh.de/soja/soy-story/
(5) Dario Dongo. Brazil, pesticide cataclysm. #Buycott GMO soy and palm. Egalité. 10.8.19
(6) Dario Dongo. Commodity Monopolies, Bunge – Viterra. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(7) Dario Dongo, Alessandra Mei. Brazilian meat from deforestation, BNP Paribas and Carrefour under indictment. FT (Food Times). 10.11.22
(8) Mighty Earth. Europe https://tinyurl.com/287s4wwu
(9) Dario Dongo. Deforestation Regulation. Due diligence on critical raw materials kicks off. FT (Food Times). 29.7.23
(10) Dario Dongo. EUDR, Deforestation Regulation. One year extension? FT (Food Times). 3.10.24
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
