Greenpeace International sent a legal letter to meatpacking giant JBS on April 30, 2024, alleging the company’s $2.5 billion expansion into Nigeria violates Dutch environmental and human rights laws. The letter, delivered the same day as JBS’s first annual meeting in the Netherlands, marks the first step toward a potential lawsuit under Dutch law.
JBS announced its first foray into Africa in 2024 after signing an agreement with the Nigerian government. The company plans to open at least six slaughterhouses in Nigeria as part of a $2.5 billion investment, which represents nearly half of its broader $6 billion global expansion strategy. JBS reincorporated in the Netherlands in 2023 as part of its listing on the New York Stock Exchange, subjecting it to Dutch legal standards.
Under Dutch law, companies have a “duty of care” aligned with international human rights standards, which includes preventing harm caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Greenpeace argues JBS’s expansion could exacerbate climate, environmental, and human rights harms. “Greenpeace Netherlands believes JBS holds a special position as one of the most climate polluting and ecosystem damaging meat companies in the world,” the letter said, adding that the company “has a duty of care under Dutch law that requires the company to refrain from conduct that violates human rights, in particular the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment and to take reasonable measures to prevent harm to people and the planet.”
The Greenpeace letter requested specific information about JBS’s Nigeria operations, including data on environmental impact and mitigation efforts, under a Dutch law that allows entities to obtain details from companies before filing suit. In a response dated May 21, 2024, JBS declined to provide the requested information, stating it “complies with laws and regulations and believes it is well positioned to support food security in markets around the world. Your letter ignores both the pressing need for food security and the aim for food independence in local markets around the globe, as well as geopolitical dynamics at play.”
Richard Brown, a Greenpeace International attorney, criticized JBS’s lack of transparency, saying, “They’ve been remarkably opaque. 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.” He added that the legal argument draws from the precedent set in the Milieudefensie case against Shell, which established that major emitters have a special obligation to reduce emissions under Dutch law.