Day 241 - 26 Apr 96 - Page 49
1 disputes and dispossession both from soya and cattle as the
2 main reason for migration.
3
4 "Sourcing slaughterhouses.
5
6 The main slaughterhouses of Mato Grosso are supplied by the
7 larger ranches in the 'beef shed' which without question
8 have cleared forms of primary tropical forest for pasture.
9 The Cuiaba abattoirs derive their animals from ranches in
10 Pantanal, from the savanna, and from the savanna forest
11 margin areas where forest has been converted. Moreover, as
12 the main conduit to southern Brazil, the Cuiaba abattoirs
13 also serve animals derived from Rondonia, which is beef
14 quite clearly raised from former rainforest zones, (for
15 example, Ponta de Lacerda).
16
17 "In addition, cow-calf operations in Rondonia can supply
18 the closer in fattening operations nearer to Cuiaba.
19 Cuiaba lies at the interface of several different kinds of
20 cattle economies, and there is no question that some of the
21 animals slaughtered there are from converted forest areas.
22 The late 1970s and early 1980s were periods of explosive
23 expansion of the livestock frontier in these regions.
24
25 "I have read the supplementary statement of Mr. Morganti.
26 SINOP is clearly located within the southern Amazonia
27 forest mosaic. Nova Xavantina also lies within this forest
28 mosaic. Having done research in this specific area, I can
29 confirm that these regions embraced large areas of forest,
30 which have been largely incinerated by the ranching
31 industry.
32
33 "Queries were put to me, so here are the responses:
34
35 "On page 280 of my book Fate of the Forest, I describe the
36 dynamics of forest conversion in Amazonia. This pattern of
37 alteration continues.
38
39 "54/55", I think that is the page reference.
40
41 MR. MORRIS: Yes, I think they are pages which were disclosed,
42 as far as I recall.
43
44 MS. STEEL: We could give copies of those specific pages if you
45 want them. "Bordon had ranches in Acre in the mid 1980s
46 which was the site of a very famous rubber tapper versus
47 ranching show down, as well as a very large ranch funded
48 with fiscal incentives in Barra de Garcas, which cleared
49 various forest types as well as using natural grasslands.
50 The Bordon ranches in Acre were the site of major land
51 conflicts and rainforest clearing.
52
53 "My conclusions are based on my 20 years of research field
54 work in Amazonian and tropical land use and their
55 consequences. The optimistic market forecasts and the real
56 growth of the demand for cutter beef for processed and
57 fast-foods, which McDonald's as the world's largest
58 consumer and promoter of beef products stimulated, are an
59 essential part of the impetus to large scale deforestation
60 and its biotic and social consequences". Signed: "Susanna
