The Boys From Brazil: How JBS became the world’s largest meat company – and wrecked the climate to do it
The Boys From Brazil: How JBS became the world’s largest meat company – and wrecked the climate to do it
Mighty Earth has published a new report which highlights that the world’s largest meat company, JBS, has increased its greenhouse gas emissions by a staggering 51% over the last five years and is now responsible for greater emissions than Italy’s annual climate footprint.
The report The Boys From Brazil: How JBS became the world’s largest meat company – and wrecked the climate to do it highlights how the Brazilian-based meat giant has been driving the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and other ecosystems, while also causing supersized climate emissions. The scandal-hit company has been linked to high-level bribery, price-fixing, pollution and the exploitation of workers.
Key findings in the report:
- JBS has increased its greenhouse gas emissions by a staggering 51% over the last five years
- JBS’ emissions are now greater than Italy’s annual climate footprint
- JBS slaughtered 46.7 million pigs, 26.8 million cattle and 4.9 billion chickens last year
- JBS’s emissions are now higher than the annual climate footprint of Spain and are almost as much as France and the United Kingdom.
The latest UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment report has singled out livestock-related methane emissions, recommending they be slashed by a third by 2030 in order to hold global temperature rise to 1.5ºC. This means the rapid expansion of JBS poses a direct threat to the climate.
Mighty Earth’s report highlights that JBS was responsible for an estimated 1.5 million hectares of deforestation in its indirect supply chains in Brazil since 2008 and warns that JBS has repeatedly broken its promises to stamp out deforestation.
“JBS is one of the world’s worst climate offenders and that’s why we’re urging its key customers like giant supermarkets Carrefour, Costco and Tesco to drop JBS urgently,” said Alex Wijeratna, Campaign Director at Mighty Earth.
