Brazilian Government Serves Shark to Infants, Prisoners and More: How Mongabay Broke the Story

Mongabay senior editor Philip Jacobson joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss a two-part investigation published this year in collaboration with the Pulitzer Center about how state governments in Brazil have been procuring shark meat — which is high in mercury and arsenic — served to potentially millions of schoolchildren and thousands of public institutions. With Mongabay’s Karla Mendes and the Pulitzer Center’s Kuang Keng Kuek Ser, Jacobson spent a year digging into public databases of government shark meat orders, called tenders.

 “It’s quite widespread,” Jacobson says. “We found shark meat tenders in 10 states and shark meat being served or being procured for more than 500 municipalities.”

Government nutritionists were also found to be recommending shark meat for school lunches because it has no bones, and even when one school official raised concerns about heavy metal contamination in the meat, her concerns were not heeded. Critics’ concerns extend beyond vulnerable populations like schoolkids, too, since shark is also on the menus of public institutions like homeless shelters, maternity wards and elder care centers.

But since the investigation was released one lawmaker has called for a parliamentary hearing to discuss the findings.

Jacobson, who has appeared on the podcast before to discuss his work on the award-winning investigation of the giant Tanah Merah palm oil project in New Guinea, explains why he finds meaning in boosting public knowledge of major environmental and public health issues that would otherwise fly under the radar.

“I don’t feel totally powerless. I can drag some hidden phenomenon out into the light or expose some bad practice. It just feels really good. It gives me purpose, and I feel like my skills are being put to good use.”