World Animal Protection is deeply concerned by the announcement that JBS, one of the world’s largest food companies, is expanding into Nigeria with a $2.5 billion investment plan.
While JBS touts this move to boost local food security and develop sustainable production chains, we must carefully consider this expansion’s animal welfare and environmental implications and the sustainability of the whole project.
Factory farming, which JBS is known for, has been linked to a myriad of issues. The mass production of poultry, beef, and pork often involves close confinement of animals in deplorable conditions, leading to significant suffering.
As JBS builds six new factories in Nigeria, it raises concerns about the welfare of millions of animals that will inevitably be subjected to factory farm conditions, where their fundamental needs for space, movement, and social interaction are ignored in favour of business-oriented production.
Africa, including Nigeria, faces serious climate change challenges. Introducing JBS’s industrial animal agriculture model—known for its high carbon footprint—can worsen the country’s climate crisis and undermine its commitment to the Paris Agreement and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Tennyson Williams, the director for Africa at World Animal Protection, said, “Food sovereignty is a critical issue in Nigeria and Africa at large. It is essential that local communities have control over their own food systems, ensuring that they can produce food sustainably and withstand global market fluctuations. JBS’s factory farming model conflicts with this vision, as it prioritises profit over the welfare of animals, people and the environment.”
To tackle food insecurity in Nigeria, the focus should shift to supporting equitable, humane, and sustainable food systems that prioritize smallholder farmers and enhance agroecological practices.
Nigeria can ensure food security without relying on large-scale, profit-driven factory-farming practices disguised as food security and job creation opportunities by providing technical assistance, access to markets, and resources to local farmers. Indigenous food systems, which are less resource-intensive, can help address hunger while minimizing environmental damage.
Additionally, creating green jobs in sustainable agriculture, such as agroforestry, organic farming, and eco-tourism, will provide long-term employment opportunities while protecting the environment.
These jobs are more sustainable and contribute to the local economy by strengthening rural communities that feed the growing population.
World Animal Protection is the global voice for animal welfare, with more than 70 years’ experience campaigning for a world where animals live free from cruelty and suffering.
