JBS Named Among Leading Greed-Motivated Corporations Harming Farmer Livelihoods and Consumer Pockets
New York, NY (May 22, 2024) – Executive Director of Ban the Batistas, Kimberly Spell, issued the below statement in response to a U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Economic Policy Subcommittee hearing on the corporate consolidation and price gouging that has led to rising business costs for farmers and grocery prices for consumers. During the hearing, entitled Protecting Consumers’ Pocketbooks: Lowering Food Prices and Combatting Corporate Price Gouging and Consolidation, U.S. Senators heard expert testimony about how JBS’s opportunistic practices damage American farmers’ livelihoods, and “ultimately, the consumer pays the price”:
“In the face of sky-high grocery prices ravaging American livelihoods, there is no clearer picture of corporate greed than JBS. The company, its subsidiaries, and criminal Batista brother owners continue to engage in widespread anticompetitive conduct with other ‘Big Ag’ players, racking up upwards of $240 million in judgements and settlements for price fixing and bid rigging in the last four years alone.
We are heartened by our leaders in the Senate for elevating this issue and stand by the groups of farmers and ranchers who are up against this giant, but our call is louder than ever: the U.S. government must stop JBS from doing further damage to our markets through an initial public offering. If a JBS IPO succeeds, their power to manipulate our food system – and their stranglehold over American farmers, consumers, and prices – will only grow.”
Hearing witnesses included Farm Action’s Chief Strategy Officer Joe Maxwell, whose testimony highlights JBS’s past price-fixing schemes in the face of soaring profits and how court settlements fail to deter its ongoing corporate greed, calling the payments : “No more than a spit in the ocean.”
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 atbanthebatistas.com.
Contact:
Katya Myagkova, [email protected]
