JBS, the world’s largest meat processing company, embodies the worst practices of factory farming, the organisation contribute significantly to environmental destruction, climate change, and animal cruelty. Our vision is a world where respect for animals and nature defines a sustainable, equitable, and resilient food system.
Every meal tied to JBS has a hidden environmental cost. On top of their inhumane treatment of sentient animals is their shameless destruction of vital ecosystems, such as the Amazon rainforest, to create animal feed.
JBS alone is responsible for greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 13.9 million cars annually, driven by its global meat production and animal feed supply chains.
Shockingly, JBS's policies allow legal and illegal deforestation in Brazil to continue until 2030 and elsewhere until 2035, despite their false public promises to combat climate change.
JBS Foods' meat processing operations are rooted in systemic cruelty towards animals. In unimaginably vile factory farms, millions of animals—including pigs and chickens—are confined in cruel cages, overfed, and treated with drugs to prevent disease. These animals, capable of dreaming and playing, instead, endure industrial-scale stress and slaughter.
The resulting meat products are shipped worldwide to millions of unsuspecting shoppers, often unbranded, making it difficult for consumers to avoid supporting their harmful practices: could you be one of them?
Brazil-based JBS attempts to cover up its excessive carbon and cruelty footprint
Our investigation with Repórter Brasil reveals the world’s biggest meat producer is selling food sourced from illegal, inhumane and climate wrecking farming methods.
Ranking the world’s top five factory farming giants by the amount of harmful emissions released
Our unique scorecard reveals, the five’s intensive meat operations – which drives the destruction of natural habitat to grow animal feed as well as inflicting animal cruelty - is equivalent to 36.4 million cars on the roads.
The voices of small-scale producers—the very people who hold the keys to sustainable food systems—are being drowned out by industry lobbyists protecting profits over the planet.
JBS is the world's biggest factory farming company that you have probably never heard of; yet, the JBS food company should be synonymous with environmental harm, animal cruelty, and unethical practices. While they may assert their commitment to climate action as they pursue global expansion, data indicates that we must act now.
Goverments have the power to transition to a better food system that prioritises animal welfare, protects communities, and safeguards our planet. By exposing the JBS Group's harmful practices we can shift away from factory farming and toward a sustainable future.
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JBS is the world's largest factory farming company, and it is responsible for the confinement and slaughter of over 5 billion chickens, 53 million pigs, 27 million cows, and 8 million lambs each year.
With JBS, factory farming and animal cruelty go hand in hand. Notorious for abusing sentient animals, JBS industrial farms are known to sever piglets’ tails without pain relief, house chickens together in spaces smaller than an A4 sheet of paper, and overfeed their animals to grow so unnaturally fast and large that their bodies collapse beneath them.
Beyond these inhumane practices, JBS is also linked to many major animal welfare violations across the world, including reports of horrifying systemic abuse of chickens in UK farms, of pig abuse in US slaughterhouses, and numerous scandals of mistreatment across Brazil.
We are calling on all consumers to boycott JBS products. Why? Because global meat producer JBS is the biggest climate culprit, contributing greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to nearly 14 million cars on the road each year.
The environmental effects of factory farming driven by JBS are drastic. Its high demand for animal feed is one of the leading causes of deforestation for farming, devastating vital habitats and releasing massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. JBS also has links to cattle suppliers responsible for illegal deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.
JBS claims that it will reach ‘carbon net zero’ by 2040 — yet the company has made no efforts to lessen its influence and associations with illegal suppliers, correctly treat its farming waste, help mitigate climate change, or limit its greenhouse gas emissions.
Every purchase of JBS meat has a hidden cost of cruelty, environmental degradation, and corruption. We must act now!
At World Animal Protection, we are advocating for a just food transition to transform the global system of industrial animal production. To do this, we need to challenge food system governance and hold corporations accountable, all while promoting animal welfare and environmental protection.
We also need to boycott farming giants like JBS and opt for sustainable, cruelty-free alternatives.
Better yet, consider switching to plant-based alternatives. There’s a growing variety of delicious meat alternatives on the market.
Half of the Earth's habitable land is used for agricultural purposes. And of that land, 77% is used to either grow crops for animal feed or as grazing land for animals. That’s why the environmental effects of factory farming are so significant.
And it isn’t only land that the global food system is monopolising. Factory farms are responsible for 70% of freshwater consumption, a 60% decline in wildlife populations, and over 30% of all greenhouse gas emissions.
The way agricultural land is treated is also a cause for concern. Pesticides used to produce animal feed harm wildlife and communities and cause pollution. This means that a large majority of the Earth’s land is being directly affected by the destructive practices caused by and related to factory farming.
You guessed it… JBS. Its pig and chicken production alone emits the equivalent greenhouse gas emissions of 14 million cars on the road each year.
To put that into perspective, JBS’s emissions are greater than those from all the cars in New York City and more than double the next biggest factory farming emitter. So, why is factory farming unsustainable? Because of JBS and its massive carbon footprint.
What’s particularly scary is that JBS claims to be doing all it can to reduce its environmental impact. But the company has no current public plan to achieve its ‘net zero’ promises or end factory farming and deforestation.
Let us be clear: giants like JBS can’t be allowed to continue their practices.
To mitigate factory farming’s environmental issues, governments need to hold factory farming companies like JBS accountable for the sake of people, animals, and our climate crisis. They can change rules and regulations for the food system to finally prioritise animal welfare and sustainability.
Join us as we ask financial institutions to withdraw their support from JBS and push for more ethical investments and practices.
As consumers, we have more power than we think to reduce the environmental effects of factory farming. We can:
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