Introduction: From Five Cattle a Day to Global Dominance
JBS S.A. is today the world’s largest meat and protein producer, operating across beef, poultry, pork, and value-added foods with hundreds of facilities worldwide and more than 270,000 employees. By the mid-2010s, its annual revenues exceeded $50 billion, placing it well ahead of rivals such as Tyson Foods.
But JBS’s rise has been anything but conventional.
From its origins as a small family butcher shop in Brazil to its aggressive global acquisition strategy—often backed by state financing—JBS’s growth has been deeply intertwined with political power, corruption scandals, environmental controversies, labor violations, and unprecedented legal settlements.
What follows is a chronological, fact-based timeline detailing how JBS became a global meat empire—and the controversies that followed.
1953–1990s: The Origins of JBS and the Rise of Friboi
JBS was founded in 1953 in Anápolis, Goiás, by José Batista Sobrinho, known locally as “Zé Mineiro.” The business began as a modest butcher shop processing around five cattle per day.
Over the following decades, the company expanded steadily across Brazil by:
- Acquiring regional slaughterhouses
- Building processing capacity
- Developing the Friboi brand, which would become one of Brazil’s most recognizable beef labels
By the 1990s, JBS was processing thousands of cattle daily and had begun exporting beef, marking its entry into international markets and laying the foundation for global expansion.
2005–2007: State Financing, IPO, and the Swift Takeover
JBS’s transformation from a regional player into a global force began in the mid-2000s.
Key milestones:
- 2005: Acquisition of Swift Armour (Argentina) for approximately $200 million, providing a foothold in South America beyond Brazil
- 2007: JBS secured approximately $580 million in financing from Brazil’s state development bank BNDES, enabling an aggressive acquisition strategy
- 2007 IPO: JBS went public on the São Paulo stock exchange in what was then Brazil’s largest IPO
Later in 2007, JBS acquired Swift & Co. (United States), assuming roughly $1.16 billion in debt. This single deal instantly made JBS the world’s largest beef producer, surpassing Tyson Foods and reshaping the global meat industry.
2008–2009: Global Acquisition Blitz and Meat Industry Consolidation
JBS continued its expansion at unprecedented speed.
Major acquisitions:
- 2008: Agreements to acquire:
- Smithfield Beef Group (USA)
- National Beef Packing Co. (USA)
- Tasman Group (Australia)
Total deal value: approximately $1.3 billion
These acquisitions made JBS-Swift the largest beef processor in the United States.
- 2009:
- Acquisition of Bertin, a major Brazilian beef and pork processor, consolidating domestic dominance
- Purchase of a 64% stake in Pilgrim’s Pride (USA) for $800 million during its bankruptcy
With Pilgrim’s Pride (the second-largest poultry producer in the U.S.) and Bertin folded into the group, JBS’s revenues surged to around $30 billion annually, making it the largest meat company in the world.
2013: The Seara Deal and Poultry Expansion
In 2013, JBS acquired Seara Foods from Marfrig Alimentos.
This deal:
- Gave JBS control of Brazil’s second-largest poultry producer
- Expanded its pork and processed foods portfolio
- Positioned JBS as a direct rival to BRF in value-added protein products
The acquisition marked a strategic shift from commodity meat toward branded and higher-margin foods.
2015–2016: Europe, Pork, and Corporate Restructuring
By 2015, JBS had built a truly global footprint.
Key developments:
- Acquisition of Moy Park (UK/Europe) for approximately $1.5 billion
- Purchase of Cargill’s U.S. pork business, making JBS the second-largest pork processor in the United States
- Acquisition of Primo Smallgoods in Australia
By the end of 2015, JBS operated across five continents, spanning beef, pork, poultry, and processed meats.
In late 2016, JBS established JBS N.V., a Dutch holding company, and began preparations for a dual listing in New York, reflecting its ambition to be seen as a global, not Brazilian, company.
At the same time, major corruption revelations were about to emerge.
2017: Lava Jato and the JBS Corruption Scandal
In May 2017, JBS executives Joesley and Wesley Batista, controlling shareholders through J&F Investimentos, became central figures in Brazil’s Operation Lava Jato (Car Wash) investigation.
Key revelations:
- J&F admitted paying approximately R$600 million (≈$190 million) in bribes
- Nearly 1,900 politicians across multiple parties were implicated
- Joesley Batista secretly recorded then-President Michel Temer, allegedly discussing payments to silence a witness
The recordings triggered a political crisis in Brazil and nearly led to Temer’s impeachment.
Record-Breaking Fines and Arrests
On May 31, 2017, J&F agreed to pay an unprecedented R$10.3 billion (≈$3.2 billion) fine over 25 years—the largest leniency agreement in global corporate history at the time.
Prosecutors stated:
- Bribes were used to secure financing, political protection, and regulatory advantages
- Funds were routed to politicians, state banks, and pension funds
In September 2017, Joesley Batista and senior executive Ricardo Saud were arrested on charges including insider trading and violating plea agreements.
2018–2020: U.S. Probes and Global Legal Fallout
United States:
- October 2017: U.S. authorities began investigating JBS’s global bribery practices
- October 14, 2020: J&F pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
- Penalties included:
- $128.25 million in criminal fines
- $27 million to settle SEC charges
Prosecutors said bribes were paid to officials in Brazil and Asia between 2017 and 2018.
2020–2021: COVID-19, Labor Issues, and Cyberattack
COVID-19:
In April 2020, JBS temporarily closed its Greeley, Colorado beef plant following a major COVID-19 outbreak among workers. The company faced multiple plant disruptions across North America while remaining a critical food supplier.
Labor concerns:
In January 2021, investigations reported that JBS had sourced cattle from farms linked to “slavery-like” labor conditions in Brazil. JBS stated it removes suppliers once formally blacklisted.
Cyberattack:
In May–June 2021, JBS suffered a major ransomware attack that shut down operations in North America and Australia, briefly disrupting nearly 20% of U.S. beef and pork processing. U.S. officials later linked the attack to a Russia-based group.
Environmental and Animal Welfare Controversies
Throughout the early 2020s, JBS faced repeated allegations related to:
- Amazon deforestation
- Incomplete cattle traceability, enabling so-called “cattle laundering”
- Supply-chain links to illegally occupied Indigenous land
- Animal welfare violations exposed by undercover investigations
In 2025, Human Rights Watch reported that JBS beef sold into the EU may have originated from ranches on illegally occupied land in Pará, Brazil.
2019–2024: Continued Expansion Despite Scandals
Despite ongoing scrutiny, JBS continued to grow:
- Pilgrim’s Pride acquired Tulip (UK pork leader)
- Seara acquired Marba (processed meats)
- Investment in alternative proteins, including the acquisition of Vivera (plant-based foods)
By the early 2020s, JBS remained the largest protein company in the world by sales, outpacing Tyson Foods by roughly $20 billion annually.
Conclusion: Power, Scale, and Accountability
JBS’s journey from a small Brazilian butcher shop to the world’s largest meat producer is a case study in:
- Aggressive consolidation
- State-backed expansion
- Political influence
- Corporate governance failures
While JBS remains a dominant force in global protein markets, its history is inseparable from corruption prosecutions, record-breaking fines, environmental criticism, labor disputes, and cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
Its story raises fundamental questions about scale, accountability, and the true cost of global food consolidation.
JBS Corporate and Controversy Timeline
JBS S.A. – Corporate and Controversy Timeline Details
- 1953: JBS was founded in Anápolis, Goiás, Brazil by José Batista Sobrinho (“Zé Mineiro”), starting as a small butcher shop processing about five cattle a daythebureauinvestigates.com. Over the next decades it expanded through acquisitions of regional plants, adopting the “Friboi” brand and building capacity. By the 1990s JBS was processing thousands of head daily and began exporting beef, marking its first entry into international markets.
- 2005–2007: JBS’s international expansion accelerated. In 2005 it acquired the Swift Armour meat processor in Argentina (a $200 million deal)reuters.com. In 2007 JBS raised ~$580 million from Brazil’s state development bank BNDES, enabling a series of large takeoversthebureauinvestigates.com. That year JBS went public on the São Paulo stock exchange in the largest IPO in Brazilian history, changed its name to JBS, and bought Swift & Co. (USA), assuming ~$1.16 billion of its debtreuters.com. The Swift deal made JBS the world’s largest beef producer (surpassing Tyson Foods)reuters.com.
- 2008–2009: JBS continued buying competitors worldwide. In March 2008 it agreed to acquire Smithfield Beef Group (USA), National Beef Packing Co. (USA) and Tasman Group (Australia) for a total of ~$1.3 billion, adding two million cattle feedlot capacityreuters.com. The deals made JBS-Swift the largest U.S. beef processor. In September 2009 JBS agreed to buy a 64% stake in bankrupt Pilgrim’s Pride (USA) for $800 million, subject to bankruptcy court approvalreuters.com. Adding Pilgrim’s (the U.S. #2 chicken processor) and Brazilian rival Bertin gave JBS ~$30 billion in annual revenuereuters.com, making it the world’s largest meat company. (In 2009 JBS also acquired Bertin, a leading Brazilian beef/pork processor, consolidating its domestic leadership.)
- 2013: JBS bought Seara Foods (Brazil) from Marfrig Alimentos, acquiring Brazil’s #2 poultry businessreuters.com. This deal (announced June 2013) dramatically expanded JBS’s chicken and pork portfolio in Brazil and made it a major player against BRF-SA.
- 2015: JBS pressed into Europe and the U.S. Further deals included JBS’s acquisition of Moy Park (UK/Europe) for ~$1.5 billionfooddive.com and Primo Smallgoods (Australia). It also bought Cargill’s U.S. pork business, making JBS the #2 U.S. pork processor. By end-2015 JBS had built a truly global platform in beef, pork and poultry, with processing and branded products on five continents. (As part of this push, Pilgrim’s Pride – a JBS subsidiary – agreed in 2017 to transfer Moy Park from JBS to itself in a $1.03B deal to streamline operationsfooddive.com.)
- Late 2016: JBS established JBS N.V. (a Dutch holding company) and prepared a dual listing of its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, reflecting its global scale. At the same time, revelations of wide-ranging corruption by the Batista family began to surface (see below).
- May 2017: In Brazil’s Lava Jato (Car Wash) probe, JBS executives Joesley and Wesley Batista (majority owners via parent J&F Investimentos) turned state’s evidence. They testified that J&F paid roughly R$600 million (~$190 million) in bribes to nearly 1,900 politicians over the past decadereuters.com. In a taped conversation on May 17, 2017, Joesley secretly recorded President Michel Temer appearing to approve paying a witness – a scandal that threatened the Temer administrationreuters.comthebureauinvestigates.com. Those disclosures rocked Brazilian politics (Temer narrowly avoided impeachment) and triggered JBS’s leniency deals.
- May 31, 2017: J&F (Batista family holding) agreed with federal prosecutors to pay an unprecedented R$10.3 billion (≈$3.2 billion) fine over 25 years for its role in corruptionreuters.com. Prosecutors noted JBS’s owners admitted spending R$600 million to bribe 1,829 officialsreuters.com – the largest ever leniency fine worldwide. Most of the fine was earmarked to state banks, pension funds and worker funds that had loaned money to JBS in exchange for bribesreuters.com.
- Sept 2017: JBS CEO Joesley Batista and top executive Ricardo Saud surrendered to police, accused of insider trading and violating their plea agreementsfooddive.com. The Batista brothers (who control JBS via J&F) were arrested and jailed during investigations into the scandalsfooddive.com.
- October 2017: The U.S. Department of Justice began probing JBS’s global bribery. (No specific citation here, but this led to later developments below.)
- 2018: Brazilian authorities continued related cases. President Temer was charged with obstruction based on the JBS recordingsreuters.com, and other politicians across parties were implicated in JBS-related scandals. The Batista brothers sold assets and equity stakes (e.g. selling shares in JBS) to raise funds for legal penalties.
- Oct 14, 2020: J&F Investimentos pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Actreuters.com. J&F agreed to pay $128.25 million in criminal fines (half of a $256.5 million total agreement, with the rest previously paid in Brazil)reuters.com, and an additional $27 million to settle SEC chargesreuters.com. U.S. prosecutors noted JBS affiliates had funneled bribes to officials in Brazil and Asia to win business (2017–2018)reuters.com. (This followed a 2017 conviction in Brazil where the U.S. SEC noted J&F had already paid R$11.2 billion in finesreuters.com.)
- 2020 (COVID-19 pandemic): In April 2020, JBS temporarily closed its Greeley, Colorado beef plant after a COVID-19 outbreak among workersjbsfoodsgroup.com. (JBS USA – then the largest employer in Weld County – took extensive measures like quarantine pay and community donations to combat the pandemic.)jbsfoodsgroup.comjbsfoodsgroup.com.
Image: JBS workers at a Greeley, Colorado plant during the COVID-19 pandemic (April 2020)jbsfoodsgroup.com. The company faced multiple COVID-related plant disruptions in 2020–21, even as it continued to supply U.S. food chains.
- Jan 6, 2021: A Guardian/Repórter Brasil investigation reported that JBS had bought cattle from farms using workers in “slavery-like” conditions (earnings of £8/day, no proper housing)theguardian.com. JBS responded that it excludes suppliers once formally blacklisted for slave labor, citing Brazilian protocols.theguardian.com The report underscored ongoing labor abuses in Brazil’s cattle industry.
- Early 2020s (deforestation & welfare): Environmental groups repeatedly accused JBS of links to Amazon deforestation. For example, in Feb 2020 The Guardian noted JBS’s failure to trace cattle origins fully, leaving “gaps” that may mask illegal deforestation by supplierstheguardian.com. Critics call this “cattle laundering” – cattle bred on illegally deforested or invaded indigenous lands and later sold through supply chainstheguardian.com. In October 2025, Human Rights Watch reported that JBS beef sold to the EU may have originated from cattle ranches on illegally occupied Indigenous and settlers’ land in Pará, Brazilhrw.org. Meanwhile, animal-welfare activists have targeted JBS plants (e.g. undercover videos by PETA/Mercy for Animals) and the company has investigated suppliers after footage of abuse.
- May–June 2021: JBS suffered a major cyberattack (ransomware). On May 30, 2021, a cyberattack (later attributed to a Russia-linked gang) hit JBS’s North American and Australian systems, forcing the shutdown of its processing plants in those regionsreuters.com. U.S. and Australian operations paused (including a halt of U.S. cattle slaughter) until data systems were restored. By June 1, the White House confirmed the attack likely originated from Russiareuters.com. This incident briefly disrupted 20% of U.S. beef and pork processing and drew comparisons to the Colonial Pipeline attack.
- 2019–2024 (continued expansion): Despite the scandals, JBS continued making acquisitions. For example, Pilgrim’s (JBS) bought Tulip (UK pork leader) in 2019 and Seara (JBS) acquired Marba (Brazilian processed meats) the same year, expanding higher-margin pork and deli lines. JBS also invested in plant-based protein (acquiring Danish vegan brand Vivera in 2019). Through these deals and organic growth, JBS reached roughly $50 billion in annual sales by the early 2020s (about $20 billion more than Tyson Foods, the next largest meatpacker)thebureauinvestigates.com.
- Political connections: Throughout its rise, JBS funneled large campaign contributions across Brazil’s political spectrum. It was a top donor to Dilma Rousseff’s 2014 campaignreuters.com and later funded other leading parties. In its guilty pleas, JBS executives admitted financing 1,829 electoral campaigns, effectively bribing politicians from nearly every major partyreuters.comthebureauinvestigates.com. Even outside Brazil, JBS PACs have supported U.S. elections, though its foreign scandals have made such donations controversial.
- Key financial milestones: By the mid-2010s, JBS became the world’s largest protein company by sales. For example, by 2016 JBS’s annual revenues (~$50 billion) exceeded Tyson’s by ~$20 billionthebureauinvestigates.com. The company today (2025) operates hundreds of processing facilities worldwide with over 270,000 employees.
Each entry above is drawn from credible reports. Notably, JBS’s growth into a global giant has been intertwined with multiple corruption prosecutions (in Brazil and abroad), huge fines and settlementsreuters.comreuters.com, and repeated criticisms over its environmental and labor practicestheguardian.comreuters.com. These events – from the 2017 plea deals and R$10.3 billion finereuters.com to the 2021 cyberattackreuters.com and 2020 plant closuresjbsfoodsgroup.com – form key milestones in the company’s complex history.
Sources: Extensive media and NGO investigations on JBS’s expansion and scandals have been used. Major events are cited above with references, including Reuters and Guardian reports on acquisitions and briberyreuters.comreuters.com, and investigative accounts of environmental, labor and corruption controversiestheguardian.comtheguardian.com. Each citation corresponds to the event described. Any significant allegation not supported by a cited source above is noted as reported by investigators.
| Topic | Source | Publisher | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| JBS origins & growth | JBS: The Rise of the World’s Biggest Meat Processor | The Bureau of Investigative Journalism | https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com |
| Swift acquisition (Argentina & USA) | JBS buys Swift Armour / Swift & Co. | Reuters | https://www.reuters.com |
| BNDES funding & IPO | Brazilian state backing of JBS | Reuters | https://www.reuters.com |
| Smithfield Beef, National Beef, Tasman Group | JBS global acquisition spree | Reuters | https://www.reuters.com |
| Pilgrim’s Pride takeover | JBS buys stake in Pilgrim’s Pride | Reuters | https://www.reuters.com |
| Bertin acquisition | JBS consolidates Brazilian meat sector | Reuters | https://www.reuters.com |
| Seara Foods deal | JBS buys Seara from Marfrig | Reuters | https://www.reuters.com |
| Moy Park acquisition | JBS expansion into Europe | FoodDive | https://www.fooddive.com |
| Lava Jato bribery revelations | Batista brothers turn state’s evidence | Reuters | https://www.reuters.com |
| Temer recording scandal | JBS tape shakes Brazil government | Reuters | https://www.reuters.com |
| Leniency deal & fines | J&F agrees to record corruption fine | Reuters | https://www.reuters.com |
| Arrests & insider trading | Batista brothers jailed | FoodDive | https://www.fooddive.com |
| U.S. DOJ & FCPA case | J&F pleads guilty to FCPA violations | Reuters | https://www.reuters.com |
| COVID-19 plant closures | Greeley, Colorado plant shutdown | JBS Food Group | https://www.jbsfoodsgroup.com |
| Labor abuses | Slavery-like conditions in cattle supply | The Guardian | https://www.theguardian.com |
| Amazon deforestation | JBS linked to illegal deforestation | The Guardian | https://www.theguardian.com |
| Indigenous land violations | EU beef linked to illegal land | Human Rights Watch | https://www.hrw.org |
| Cyberattack | JBS ransomware attack | Reuters | https://www.reuters.com |
Additional References & Context (Recommended Reading)
- Brazil’s Lava Jato (Operation Car Wash) – Overview of the largest corruption probe in Latin American history
https://www.reuters.com - BNDES and State Capitalism in Brazil – How government development banks fueled corporate giants
https://www.ft.com - Global Meat Industry Consolidation – Market concentration and pricing power
https://www.oecd.org - Cattle Laundering Explained – How illegal deforestation enters legal supply chains
https://www.theguardian.com - Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) – U.S. anti-bribery law applied to global corporations
https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/fcpa
FAQ Section
Who owns JBS today?
JBS is controlled by the Batista family through J&F Investimentos, although parts of the company are publicly traded and state entities such as Brazil’s BNDES have historically held significant stakes.
How did JBS become the world’s largest meat producer?
JBS grew through aggressive, debt-fuelled acquisitions, many backed by Brazilian state financing, acquiring major rivals across beef, pork, and poultry in the U.S., Europe, Australia, and Latin America.
Was JBS involved in bribery and corruption?
Yes. In 2017, JBS executives admitted to paying approximately R$600 million in bribes to nearly 1,900 politicians, leading to the largest corporate leniency fine in global history.
Did JBS bribe Brazilian politicians?
According to court testimony and plea agreements, JBS bribed politicians across nearly every major Brazilian political party, including figures connected to the presidency.
Has JBS faced consequences outside Brazil?
Yes. In 2020, J&F Investimentos pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and paid hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties.
Is JBS linked to Amazon deforestation?
Investigations by NGOs and journalists have repeatedly linked JBS supply chains to illegal deforestation, often through indirect suppliers — a practice critics call “cattle laundering.”
Does JBS still operate despite these scandals?
Yes. Despite fines, arrests, and global scrutiny, JBS remains the largest meat company in the world, generating roughly $50 billion annually and operating hundreds of facilities worldwide.
Why does this story matter?
JBS’s rise highlights how corporate power, political influence, weak regulation, and global food systems intersect — affecting food prices, environmental destruction, labor rights, and democratic institutions.