Reading archive 2022-05-04

In Ukrainian villages, whispers of collaboration with the Russians: Rumors about traitors run rife as invading forces have seemed to know in advance which residents have guns and which are said to be wealthy

THE AMAZON, UNDONE: DEVOURING THE RAINFOREST - "Cattle are not tracked individually in Brazil, as they are in neighboring Argentina and in Europe. All that ranchers with embargoed land have to do is ship their cattle to properties with clean environmental records. Once the animals reach a ranch that doesn’t have a history of deforestation, they are effectively born again — cleansed and ready to be sold to producers such as JBS for slaughter and shipment.

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"Every time cattle are moved in the country, a shipment log called a 'Guide of Animal Transport' is created. The purpose of the document is sanitary: to help prevent the spread of infectious diseases and ensure proper cattle vaccinations. But those records, current and former government officials say, can be used to create a cattle-tracking tool and illuminate even the murkiest sections of the supply chain.

"Researchers have done it. But not the federal government."