Casino sued for deforestation in the Amazon

Several indigenous groups from the Amazon are suing Casino, as they hold the French supermarket chain responsible for the deforestation of the area. The charges are specifically about the chain selling meat from extensive farming in Brazil and Colombia.

French law

The eleven indigenous groups, supported by NGOs from the United States and France, are demanding 3.1 million euros in damages, the BBC reports. In a joint statement, the groups link Casino’s beef to deforestation in an area “five times the size of Paris”.

The supermarket chain is being sued under a French law enacted in 2017, stating that companies must prevent violations of human rights and the environment in their supply chains.

According to the groups, Casino regularly bought beef from three slaughterhouses owned by JBS, a meat processing company accused of deforestation. “The three slaughterhouses sourced cattle from 592 suppliers responsible for at least 50,000 hectares of deforestation between 2008 and 2020”, the statement continued.

GPA

Groupe Casino, which also controls Brazil’s largest food retailer Grupo Pão de Açucar and Colombian Almacenes Éxito, told Reuters news agency that it takes a “rigorous approach” to its supply chains. The retailer also said its beef of Brazilian origin was not sold in its French shops.

Its Brazilian branch also said that in 2016 it set out criteria that its suppliers must meet, which included “zero Amazon deforestation, no slave-like condition, no child labour and no invasions of indigenous land or conservation areas”.