What if one of the world's biggest meat companies expanded into Africa with a multibillion-dollar plan, but offered few details about what it would actually build, where it would go, or who would benefit?
That question is driving a growing backlash against JBS, the world's largest meat company, over a still-murky proposal to build at least six slaughterhouses in Nigeria.
According to Inside Climate News, environmental groups and civil society advocates have said the company's secrecy is raising urgent questions about pollution, land use, and the real impact on local communities.
The proposed $2.5 billion investment would mark JBS's first major move into Africa, but critics have said it could deepen climate and food-system problems rather than solve them.
JBS said in 2024 that it had reached an agreement with the Nigerian government as part of a broader $6 billion global expansion plan.
But advocates said the company shared few details about what it intends to build, how the projects could affect nearby communities, or where the meat would ultimately go.
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That lack of transparency is now at the center of a legal challenge. In April, Greenpeace International sent JBS a formal letter arguing that the company's reincorporation in the Netherlands could subject it to a legal "duty of care" over environmental and human rights harms.
Scrutiny intensified after protesters gathered outside JBS's first annual meeting in the Netherlands, holding a banner that read, "JBS: Keep your bloody business out of Africa."
Greenpeace's letter also asked the company to turn over information about its Nigeria plans, but JBS declined, saying it complies with the law and is helping support food security.
JBS has long faced criticism over its links to Amazon deforestation and for climate promises that opponents say do not align with its business model. One analysis said JBS emitted more methane in 2023 than Shell and ExxonMobil combined.
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Opponents in Nigeria have said it remains unclear how the slaughterhouses could affect pastoralist livelihoods, local landscapes, and already stressed food systems.
Some activists said a large share of the processed meat could be shipped to richer markets instead of helping Nigerians facing food insecurity.
Campaigners said major questions will remain until more details are made public about whether the company's expansion would serve local needs — or extend the environmental and social costs that have accompanied industrial meat production elsewhere.
"They've been remarkably opaque," said Greenpeace International attorney Richard Brown, per Inside Climate News. "We know that they entered into an agreement 18 months ago, and we know that they are planning to invest $2.5 billion in Nigeria, and they've been talking to people in Nigeria, and preparatory work is underway, but the detail is really, really sketchy. They are operating in the shadows."
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