JBS Deforestation Scandal Spotlighted in PETA Billboard

The Rainforest and Its Inhabitants Are Burning Because of U.S. Consumers’ Greed, Not Need

For Immediate Release:
September 21, 2020

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

New evidence connects JBS to a ranch that has illegally destroyed parts of the Amazon rainforest, prompting PETA to place a graphic new billboard near the local JBS slaughterhouse blaming the meat industry and those who support it for the deaths of parrots, monkeys, and other wildlife who make the Amazon their home.

“JBS is complicit in the deaths of not only cattle but also other animals as well as habitat devastation—and so is anyone who’s still clinging to the meat habit,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA wants everyone to know that they can help save the rainforest by going vegan and we’re here to help them make the transition.”

More than 80% of deforestation in the Amazon is linked to meat production, either for grazing or for growing food for cattle, including those in the U.S. market. In addition, the United Nations states that animal agriculture is responsible for nearly a fifth of human-induced greenhouse-gas emissions—and warns that a global shift to vegan eating is vital if we are to combat the worst effects of climate change.

In addition to saving the lives of nearly 200 animals every year, each person who goes vegan also helps prevent future pandemics: Confining and killing animals for food has been linked to SARS, swine flu, bird flu, and COVID-19. The meat industry has also allowed slaughterhouse workers, including those at JBS, to face a nearly unchecked spread of the novel coronavirus. The JBS slaughterhouse in Greeley reported more than 360 cases by May 19.

The ad is located at Highway 85, north of Fifth Street, about 2 miles from JBS in Greeley. PETA also placed the billboard near another JBS location in Grand Island, Nebraska.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.