Monbiot: carne britânica é 100 vezes mais ética que a brasileira

O ativista/polemista George Monbiot diz na coluna dele no Guardian que a carne brasileira é 100 vezes menos ética que a britânica.

Segundo o ideólogo de destaque daquele pessoal que costuma brigar com a polícia durante as reuniões do Fórum Econõmico Mundial, nossas vacas são responsáveis pela destruição da Amazônia...

Cattle ranching, if it keeps expanding in the Amazon, threatens two-fifths of the world's remaining rainforest. This is not just the most diverse ecosystem but also the biggest reserve of standing carbon. Its clearance could provoke a hydrological disaster in South America, as rainfall is reduced as the trees come down. Next time you see footage of the forest burning, remember that you might have paid for it.

... por 1,2 mil mortes em conflitos por terra, incluindo a freira ativista Dorothy Stang,

Many Brazilians, especially those whose land is being grabbed by the cattlemen, are trying to stop the destruction. Ranchers have an effective argument: when people complain, they kill them. In February we heard an echo of the massacre which has so far claimed 1200 lives, when the American nun Dorothy Stang was murdered - almost certainly by beef producers. The ranchers believed to have killed her were, like cattlemen throughout the Amazon, protected by the police.

... por 25 mil trabalhadores em regime de escravidão,

For the same reason, and despite the best efforts of President Lula, the ranchers are now employing some 25,000 slaves on their estates. These are people who are transported thousands of miles from their home states, then - forced to buy their provisions from the ranch shop at inflated prices - kept in permanent debt. Because of the expansion of beef production in the Amazon, slavery in Brazil has quintupled in 10 years.

... além de ser um país corrupto e incompetente para controlar a aftosa.

So the government of a country which - despite its best efforts - has failed to stop slavery, murder and environmental catastrophe expects us to believe that its farm-hygiene standards are as rigorously enforced as those of any other nation. Anyone who has worked in the Amazon knows that there is no certificate which cannot be bought, and few local officials who aren't working for the people they are meant to regulate. If foot and mouth disease is endemic in the Brazilian Amazon - most of which is now registered by the government as "safe" - the ministers in Brasilia will be the last to know.

No primeiro semestre deste ano, nossas exportações de carne para o Reino Unido cresceram 70% chegando a 34 mil toneladas. Monbiot lançou um boiocote à carne brasileira que já está disponível no varejo britãnico.

Perhaps the Guardian's readers could help me locate it. Unlike other meat, fresh beef's country of origin must - because of BSE - be printed on the packet. So, with a little detective work in shops and supermarkets and round the back of pubs, schools, hospitals and barracks, it shouldn't be too hard to trace. Once you've found it, I suggest you back away.

Nunca fui fã do Monbiot (veja notas), mas desta vez ele está exagerando. Destruição da Amazônia, trabalho escravo, corrupção, incompetência, conflitos agrários selvagens e aftosa são vergonhas brasileiras inegáveis.

Entretanto, fazer a conexão direta deles com a produção de carne para exportação é, no mínimo, leviano. Espalhar o medo entre os consumidores britânicos então.... parece ser coisa digna do depto de mkt da Microsoft.

BTW, criar gado confinado alimentado com ração produzida com restos de outros bois é ético?

Se eu fosse nascer vaca minha primeira opção seria a Índia só para ficar deitado no meio da rua atrapalhando o trânsito. Minha segunda opção seria viver solto no pantanal, passeando e pastando até o dia do frigorífico final.