Brazilian federal prosecutors and labor authorities have launched substantial legal actions against two of the world’s largest food companies, JBS and Cargill. The lawsuits allege that both corporations failed to prevent and address forced labor and child labor within their extensive supply chains in Brazil.
The legal filings come after a series of investigations into the production of cattle and cocoa. Authorities claim that despite public commitments to ethical sourcing, both companies continued to purchase products from farms that utilized “conditions analogous to slavery.”
Key aspects of the legal action include:
- Forced Labor Allegations: Investigators documented workers living in precarious conditions without access to clean water or proper housing on several supplying ranches and plantations.
- Child Labor: Evidence was presented showing minors performing hazardous work in cocoa harvesting linked to Cargill’s operations.
- Financial Penalties: Prosecutors are seeking billions of reais in collective moral damages, arguing that the companies’ monitoring systems are intentionally inadequate.
- Supply Chain Transparency: The lawsuits demand that JBS and Cargill implement more rigorous, real-time tracking of indirect suppliers—the “middle-man” farms where much of the abuse reportedly occurs.
While JBS and Cargill have both stated they have “zero tolerance” for labor abuses and point to their existing monitoring protocols, Brazilian authorities argue that the companies must be held legally responsible for the human rights standards of their entire production network. This case is seen as a landmark attempt to hold multinational corporations accountable for the actions of their third-party suppliers.
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