Pressure Campaign Urges Consumers to Use Power of their Dollar to Reject Batista Brothers’ Appointment to Board at JBS Annual Shareholder Meeting
New York, NY (April 10, 2024) – Ban the Batistas, a leading advocacy group working to protect farmers, ranchers, consumers, and investors from the threat of JBS and its corrupt owners Joesley and Wesley Batista, called today for a global consumer boycott of the meatpacking giant’s brands in grocery stores around the world. The mounting pressure campaign comes on the heels of JBS’s announced intention to reappoint the Batista brothers to its board of directors — a move that will come to a vote at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in New York City on April 26, 2024.
“Consumers in America and across the world have the purchasing power to reject the corrupt Batista brothers’ brazen attempt to trade previously sleeping on concrete bunks in a Brazilian prison with new, cozy seats on the JBS Board,” stated Kimberly Spell, Executive Director of Ban the Batistas. “With a notorious legacy of lies, bribery, slave labor, deforestation and a host of other malevolent illegalities, we’re employing the motivator the Batistas care about most – cash – and are calling on consumers worldwide to vote with their dollar and boycott products fueling their illicit conduct.”
The Batista brothers stepped down from executive positions at JBS in 2018 after their bribery of nearly 2,000 politicians came to light in the largest corruption probe in Brazilian history, though they maintained control as owners of JBS’s holding company, J&F Investimentos. Even after this cosmetic distancing, JBS has continually faced a series of antitrust cases across the entire U.S. meat industry, scrutiny for its ongoing deforestation practices by U.S. senators, and a recent lawsuit brought by New York State Attorney General Leticia James for greenwashing practices tantamount to fraud.
The company plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) later this year — despite the fact a broad, ideologically diverse coalition of U.S. Senators (from Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) on the right to Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on the left) are stepping up public pressure to reject the listing.
“Giving the Batista brothers a seat at the table on the JBS Board will only fuel their ability to further pillage and plunder America’s financial, agricultural, and consumer communities,” Spell charged. “We hope the people make their voices heard by boycotting their products, and implore our financial, regulatory, and legislative leaders to follow suit and ban the Batistas for good,” Spell continued.
As part of the effort, Ban the Batistas also launched a social media campaign to educate consumers on how to avoid JBS brands and think before supporting the company and the Batista brothers. JBS brands part of the boycott, carried in grocery stores around the world, include:
- 1855 Black Angus Beef
- 5 Star Beef
- Blue Ribbon Beef
- Certified Angus Beef
- Clear River Farms
- Just Bare
- Pilgrim’s Pride
- Richmond
- Swift
- The Honest Butcher
A full list of brands can be found here.
About Ban the Batistas
Ban the Batistas is an advocacy group fighting to protect American farmers, ranchers, consumers, and investors from the risks of a U.S. stock listing by JBS S.A. and the unchecked power grab by its majority shareholders, brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista. Learn more at banthebatistas.com.
Contact: [email protected]
