Profits Plummet for World’s Largest Meat Company

Animal products are on their way out. In a clear sign of the times, the world’s largest meat company, JBS, recently reported that its profits had fallen 79.8% year-over-year.

The company’s failure is tied in part to a recent scandal in Brazil, where an investigation — Operation Weak Flesh — revealed widespread corruption in the oversight of meat safety. Investigators found that JBS officials bribed government employees and engaged in strategies to allow the sale of contaminated, expired, and mislabeled animal products, leading to a $3.2 billion for bribery. Earlier this year, parent company J&F sold its beef operations in three countries — Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

JBS owns multiple other meat companies, including Pilgrim’s corp. In 2014, a COK investigation exposed horrific cruelty at a Pilgrim’s factory farm in North Carolina, where birds were dumped into outdoor pits and buried alive.

Students at Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins, Colorado, are currently fighting the construction of an on-campus slaughterhouse partially funded by JBS, and the company has previously been fined for worker’s rights issues and for environmental damage — including polluting waterways and massive deforestation in critical areas of Brazilian ecosystems.

The profit loss for the world’s largest meat producer comes amid an increase in the popularity of plant-based milks and plant-based meats — and a rise in vegan options at restaurants and in grocery stores.

Want to keep the meat industry scrambling? Opt for meat-free meals! Check out TryVeg.com for recipes and other info on living a plant-based lifestyle.