From pastures to plates: The thorny path to achieving deforestation-free cattle from Brazil to European consumers
研究欧盟无毁林产品法规在巴西牛肉供应链中的实施挑战，发现执法不力、生产力低下、市场泄漏等问题，并指出小牧场主可能受负面影响，强调建立透明追溯系统的必要性。
The EU regulation on Deforestation-Free Products (EUDR) enacted in 2023 aims to reduce deforestation connected to commodities imported to the EU, including cattle products. In Brazil, the EUDR pressures the local cattle supply chain towards more sustainable production. However, the potential effects of the EUDR on reducing deforestation in this sector are unclear and require scrutiny. Drawing on the concept of Telecoupling, we investigate the challenges and potential impacts of implementing the EUDR in the Brazilian cattle supply chain. We interviewed 19 Brazilian stakeholders representing the private sector, NGOs, investigative journals, banks, and governmental institutions through semi-structured questionnaires complemented with secondary data analysis. Our findings reveal the extent to which historical challenges, such as the lack of law enforcement and low productivity persist, and the possible spillover effects, including market and production leakages. Additionally, the study shows how the EUDR may lead to potential negative impacts for small-scale ranchers. We highlight the need to implement a transparent and integrated public birth-to-slaughter traceability system for cattle in Brazil to guarantee the EUDR's effectiveness. If European and Brazilian governments, cattle producers, and meatpacking companies are not able to address these issues, EUDR's objective to reduce deforestation will be difficult to achieve.