Day 251 - 17 May 96 - Page 13
1 that was occurring in the state of Mato Grosso at the time,
2 it seems to me, from my personal knowledge of the region,
3 extremely likely that some of the cattle came from ranches
4 created on recently-cleared areas of tropical forest.
5
6 "Mr. Morganti discusses in his statement (paragraph 9) the
7 history of the land currently being used to raise cattle
8 for Braslo. He says: 'Before that time (that is, 1965),
9 it is my understanding that the western parts of those
10 areas (in Goias and Mato Grosso do Sul) were virgin land.
11 I am as certain as I can be that none of those areas was
12 occupied by small farmers who were subsequently displaced
13 by cattle ranching'. This statement is wrong. Mato Grosso
14 do Sul was not virgin land when the cattle-rearers arrived;
15 it has been occupied for centuries by Guarani and Kadiweu
16 Indians.
17
18 "For the last 30 years (and still today), there has been
19 serious conflicts in this region, as the Indians struggle
20 to keep their lands. Indians have been killed in these
21 conflicts. Once again, we do not have the names of the
22 ranches where Braslo is buying cattle, but the conflicts
23 have been so widespread that they have involved, at some
24 time or other, almost all the ranches in this state.
25 Braslo says that it continues to buy cattle from this
26 region today. It is, in my view, impossible for Braslo to
27 be buying cattle in this region without making purchases
28 from ranches on land previously occupied by Indians.
29
30 "In Goias, the situation is somewhat different. Until
31 1989, Goias included the recently-formed state of
32 Tocantins. In the 1970s and 1980s, the north of the state
33 of Goias -- known as the 'parrot's beak' because of its
34 shape -- was the area with the most violent conflicts in
35 Brazil. Hundreds of peasant families were violently
36 evicted from their land and there were frequent deaths. I
37 travelled widely in this region, and spoke to some of the
38 evicted families. This region also has large areas of
39 tropical forest that were cleared to pave the way for
40 cattle ranches. The south of Goias has also experienced
41 land conflict, but on a smaller scale. Braslo says that it
42 is buying beef from a meat-packing station in Goiania, the
43 capital of Goias. Once again, we do not have the list of
44 ranches supplying the meat plant, but it seems to me likely
45 that some of these ranches have been involved in land
46 conflicts and are occupying land that was once tropical
47 forest".
48
49 We have very recently been given a list of ranches which
50 McDonald's admits have supplied or are supplying -----
51
52 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is a list of towns, in fact. If you go to
53 that, I would like you to ask Miss Branford to point out
54 (so I am sure where it is) where the parrot's beak was.
55 You can use Signor Morganti's map, if you are going we use
56 it anyway. I think probably all we need are the middle two
57 sections for Goias. If you just get your bearings,
58 Miss Branford. (Handed)
59
60 THE WITNESS: Would it help if I identify the parrot's beak?
