Collagen commerce fuels deforestation disaster in Paraguay, says NGO

Of their investigation, International Witness targeted on a portion of territory historically occupied by the Ayoreo Totobiegosode, {a partially} uncontacted Indigenous group going through extreme threats to their setting and lifestyle. In line with the NGO’s findings — primarily based on satellite tv for pc imagery, land registry data and a area survey — livestock farming encroaching on the Totobiegosode territory led to the deforestation of greater than 18,000 hectares in 2021-2023 – an space bigger than the scale of Paris.

Animal by-products

Animals raised in deforested areas had been offered to South American meat giants, similar to Minerva Meals and Frigorífico Concepción, the NGO claims. Moreover, International Witness says to have traced the availability chains of collagen from Paraguay to one of many world’s largest collagen corporations, Rousselot.

Particularly, a commerce information evaluation confirmed 3,000 tonnes of cattle hides marked “for the manufacturing of collagen” have been shipped from Paraguay-based Frigorífico Concepción’s tanneries to Rousselot’s factories in France since 2022.

“We require all hides sourced from Paraguay or the Amazon Basin areas inside Brazil come from suppliers which have traceability in place,” stated Darling Elements, Rousselot’s father or mother firm, when questioned by International Witness. “A big majority (together with the suppliers talked about within the report) are members of the Leather-based Working Group (LWG), which actively works to eradicate provide chain deforestation,” and “we require every provider to signal a press release on deforestation and land rights,” added the group.

In line with International Witness, Darling Elements has not responded as as to whether it intends to proceed its present provides from Paraguay.

Frigorífico Concepción didn’t reply to the NGO about its suppliers, the knowledge being thought of as “confidential”. The corporate said that it has dedicated “to not purchase livestock from areas affected by unlawful deforestation” in Paraguay.

Animal skins and hides are a secondary product from the meat trade which may be repurposed for leather-based and upcycled to collagen peptides, gelatin capsules, and different merchandise. Collagen is principally used within the well being and dietary complement sectors. The cosmetics trade, at the very least in Europe, usually prefers a plant-based equal.

EU anti-deforestation regulation

“Collagen dietary supplements could promise everlasting youth to Western customers – however they’re additionally turbocharging a deforestation disaster in Paraguay that has seen monumental swathes of climate-critical forest worn out in simply three years,” comnented, Charlie Hammans, the writer of the report.

“Our findings are a vital reminder of the pressing want for legal guidelines just like the EU’s landmark anti-deforestation regulation, which is able to assist to make sure that merchandise used to make collagen, together with a variety of merchandise from beef burgers to automotive tyres, are sourced from deforestation-free provide chains,” he added.

The EU regulation on deforestation-free merchandise (or EUDR) [1] was adopted in 2023 and was initially scheduled to return into pressure on the finish of December this 12 months. Nonetheless, nations and industries from Brazil to Malaysia say it’s protectionist and will find yourself excluding tens of millions of poor, small-scale farmers from the EU market. There have been additionally widespread warnings that it might disrupt the European Union’s provide chains and push up costs. On the request of 20 out of 27 Member States, the Fee lastly proposed to postpone its implementation by 12 months.

The Gran Chaco is the second largest forested space in South America. Divided amongst Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia, its forests and wildlife have been in sharp decline for 25 years as a consequence of soy and livestock farming.