The meat giant’s web of corruption

The company’s reputation has been muddied by scandals that have raised serious concerns about its corporate governance, ethics, and accountability.

This blogs delves into a few of these examples: 

Bribery 

In 2017, JBS was implicated in a corruption scandal that shook Brazil’s political and economic landscape. JBS executives, including CEO Wesley Batista and his brother Joesley Batista, admitted to paying over $150 million US Dollars, over £110 million, in bribes to nearly 2,000 politicians, including high-ranking officials, in exchange for favourable treatment and government support. 

As a result, the Batista brothers were fined $3.2 billion US Dollars, nearly £2.5 million, the largest fine in Brazilian history. While JBS’s top executives avoided jail time due to their cooperation, the scandal left a lasting stain on the company’s reputation.¹

Illegal Deforestation 

Despite pledges to end deforestation in its supply chain, investigations have shown that JBS continues to source cattle from suppliers involved in illegal forest clearing in the Amazon.² JBS has also done nothing to eliminate deforestation in its animal feed supply chain.³ As land is cleared, wild animals lose their homes, the livelihoods of indigenous communities are threatened, and vital ecosystems that help regulate our climate are destroyed. 

Water Pollution 

In addition to deforestation, JBS has been associated with water pollution through its global operations, including the discharge of untreated or poorly treated waste from its slaughterhouses and factory farms.⁴ In 2019, The Center for Biological Diversity and Food and Water Watch filed a notice of intent to sue JBS for illegally discharging “discharging dangerous wastes, including ammonia nitrogen and suspended solids, into a tributary of the South Platte River, threatening Colorado citizens as well as the survival of an endangered fish called the pallid sturgeon”.⁵  Moreover, in 2024 it was reported that JBS released “millions of gallons of cow manure into both the Wood and Platte River” in Nebraska, United States.⁶ 

The high content of nitrogen and other nutrients in manure can lead to ecological “dead zones” in downstream waterways and seas, where an overgrowth of algae consumes all the oxygen from the water. This can cause the collapse of a river’s entire ecosystem and the surrounding habitats.  

Did you know? 

In 2024, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against JBS, which accuses the company of misleading consumers and investors by overstating its efforts and commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  

The lawsuit points out that despite JBS’ global operations in intensive factory farming and large-scale meat production, it continued to promote itself as a company taking bold steps toward sustainability, essential greenwashing.⁷ 

Greenwashing is when a company exaggerates or fabricates environmental efforts to present a more sustainable image, without making real changes to reduce environmental harm.  

Animal Cruelty 

While JBS, through its UK subsidiaries Pilgrim’s Pride and Moy Park, publicly promote adherence to animal welfare standards, instances of animal cruelty in its supply chain have been reported. For example, in August 2020, an investigation revealed evidence of horrendous animal suffering on four chicken factory farms in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire operated by Moy Park.⁸  

The UK factory farming industry, which inflicts horrific suffering on over a billion animals each year, is being propped up by JBS. It is also important to note that JBS has been linked to numerous animal welfare scandals in Brazil and the United States, where it has been accused of mistreating animals in its supply chain.

An example in 2023 being in the US, where a report revealed pigs were being abused in a JBS owned slaughterhouse in Iowa.⁹ These global practices reflect poorly on the company’s overall commitment to animal welfare, despite their publicized animal welfare policies.