CEO Note: JBS targets Africa for massive land-grab

Mighty Earth CEO Glenn Hurowitz warns that JBS, the world's largest meat company, is expanding its industrial model into Africa, securing 4,600 square miles of land in Nigeria for six meat-processing plants. The note highlights JBS's history of deforestation in the Amazon and Cerrado, labor abuses, and pollution, while noting a legal challenge by Greenpeace Netherlands to force disclosure of the company's climate and human rights policies. Mighty Earth is targeting JBS's global retail customers, such as Ahold Delhaize and Stop & Shop, to pressure the company into changing its practices.

• JBS has secured a commitment from Nigerian state and federal governments for 4,600 square miles of land to support the construction of six industrial meat-processing plants, representing half of the company's planned global expansion.
• The company's environmental and social record includes deforestation in the Amazon and Cerrado, water pollution fines in the United States, and allegations of "slavery-like" labor conditions in its supply chain, for which Brazilian authorities are seeking nearly $24 million in damages.
• Greenpeace Netherlands has initiated legal action against JBS at its new headquarters to demand the disclosure of policies regarding climate, nature, and human rights, which will be used to challenge the company's $6 billion global expansion plan in court.
• JBS's total climate emissions are described as being equivalent in size to the entire country of Spain.

APA

Hurowitz, G. (2026). CEO Note: JBS targets Africa for massive land-grab. Mighty Earth. https://mightyearth.org/article/ceo-note-jbs-targets-africa-for-massive-land-grab/

Chicago

Hurowitz, Glenn. CEO Note: JBS targets Africa for massive land-grab. Mighty Earth, 2026. https://mightyearth.org/article/ceo-note-jbs-targets-africa-for-massive-land-grab/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Hurowitz |first1=Glenn |title=CEO Note: JBS targets Africa for massive land-grab |publisher=Mighty Earth |date=20 May 2026 |url=https://mightyearth.org/article/ceo-note-jbs-targets-africa-for-massive-land-grab/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{hurowitz2026ceo, author = {Hurowitz, Glenn}, title = {{CEO Note: JBS targets Africa for massive land-grab}}, publisher = {Mighty Earth}, year = {2026}, month = may, url = {https://mightyearth.org/article/ceo-note-jbs-targets-africa-for-massive-land-grab/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }