@article{fdi:010094236,
  title = {{D}ata under siege : making cattle flows (il)legible in the {B}razilian {A}mazon},
  author = {{C}hoquet, {P}ierre-louis},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{I}n recent years, intense fires in the {A}mazon have put the spotlight on the deep intertwining between {B}razil's beef industry and rainforest destruction. {A}s increasing evidence suggested that cattle raised in illegally cleared lands routinely fed the slaughterhouses owned by major meatpacking companies ({JBS}, {M}arfrig, {M}inerva), these have faced unprecedented criticism. {I}n this context, an already-existing data infrastructure known as the {GTA} ('{G}ûia de {T}ransito {A}nimal') has become a bone of contention. {D}eveloped since the late 1990s by {B}razilian veterinary authorities, the {GTA} keeps track of all cattle movements occurring within national borders : although it was initially designed to allow a rapid reconstruction of contagion chains in case of epizootic disease - a function that it still fulfils -, from 2018 onwards civil society actors started to use it as a proxy to detect deforestation and illegal cattle farming in the supply chain of slaughterhouses. {T}his sudden, unexpected enlargement of the {GTA}'s scope - i.e., from animal health to environmental traceability - quickly sparked tensions, with big meatpackers, farmers unions, journalists, environmental {NGO}s, scientists and state administrations defending contradictory agendas. {I}n this article, {I} aim to reconstruct the socio-historical trajectory of this controversy, and to map out the manifold consequences of this twisted use of animal transit data. {E}xploring the ecologies of the {GTA} (the way it is designed, produced, maintenanced, circulated) will allow to show how digital technologies can become loci of intense power struggles in a time of environmental devastation.},
  keywords = {{D}igital data ; cattle ; supply chain ; capitalism ; environmental ; traceability ; {BRESIL} ; {AMAZONIE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{EPE} : {N}ature and {S}pace},
  volume = {[{E}arly access]},
  numero = {},
  pages = {[25 p.]},
  ISSN = {2514-8486},
  year = {2025},
  DOI = {10.1177/25148486251352387},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010094236},
}