Seven meatpacking plants and two exporters in the northern Brazilian state of Pará have pledged not to accept meat or livestock from illegally deforested areas of the Amazon. The nine companies are among the 13 that the Attorney General's office has accused of abetting environmental crimes committed by cattle ranchers.

Now it will be necessary to monitor compliance with the conduct agreement signed by the businesses, says Roberto Smeraldi, director of Friends of the Earth/Brazilian Amazon, a pioneer organization in denouncing deforestation caused by cattle operations.

“The main difficulty is controlling the breeding phase, which is contracted out to more informal ranches that don't sell directly to the meat-packing plants,” he told Tierramérica.

Brazil is fourth in the world for cattle exports and first in volume of beef.