Under Brazilian law, anthropologists working in conjunction with lawyers, sociologists, cartographers and other experts must study the land and its history before deciding to whom it belongs. The territory was recognised as belonging to the Guarani-Kaiowá in 2010 but successive governments have not taken the final step needed to give the Kaiowá legal ownership, according to Earthsight. Luana Fernandes, a lawyer for the Jacintho family, said they had no comment on the group’s report. The Brasília do Sul farm is in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul and run by the Jacintho family, a leading landowner in Brazil’s soy and cattle belt, Earthsight said. Together the firms account for 30.8% of Brazilian soy exports to the EU and UK.
The report said: “Our investigation demonstrates how Cargill’s irresponsible indigenous rights policy and Bunge’s questionable traceability of indirect suppliers, expose their supply chains to illegalities and violent conflict, despite their stated commitments on human rights.”Ĭargill confirmed it bought soy from Brasília do Sul but said in a statement to the Guardian that because the farm did not officially belong to the Kaiowá “there was no illegality”.īunge refused to say whether it sourced soy from Brasília do Sul but said its commercial operations with suppliers were “legal” and “complied with Brazilian legislation and company procedures”.īoth companies have detailed labour, indigenous rights and sustainability policies. Bunge, it said, processes soy bought from the farm by intermediaries. A member of the Kaiowá, Marcos Verón, a septuagenarian chief, was beaten to death in violent clashes there in 2003 when he led a group of people seeking to take back their territory.Ĭargill buys soy grown on the 9,700-hectare farm, which is now known as Brasília do Sul, the Earthsight report claims. The land was subsequently deforested to make way for cattle and soy plantations. The Kaiowá were forcibly evicted by landowners more than half a century ago but the group have continued to stake their claim to land they know as Takuara.
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