Extreme weather events have been getting worse as climate change rages on, with Brazil’s horrific flooding becoming the latest catastrophic climate event.
Severe floods caused by heavy rains and storms have devastated parts of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul and the adjacent Uruguayan cities of Treinta y Tres, Paysandú, Cerro Largo, and Salto.
This environmental catastrophe ravaged the state, with local shops, factories, farms, ranches, and public transportation impacted. Sergio Vale, chief economist at MB Associations puts this scale of economic devastation on par with Hurricane Katrina, which impacted New Orleans in 2005. According to The Associated Press, financial losses have mounted to more than $1.9 billion so far.
Tragically, 140 people and an untold number of wild and farmed animals paid with their lives.
World Animal Protection is there to bear witness to the devastation and document the damage in order to call out the factory farming companies that are accountable for increasing our risk of climate disasters, and we’re demanding that they change on a global scale.
World Animal Protection’s Brazil office, which is on the ground documenting the impact of this extreme event on farmed and wild animals, people, and farmers, issued a statement this month:
“We regret the devastating losses - especially of human lives - caused by the tragedy in Rio Grande do Sul and extend our solidarity to all those affected.
As an NGO that fights to end cruelty and suffering of animals—who are sentient beings and, like humans, feel complex emotions such as fear and pain—we regret the impact of this climate disaster on the lives of domestic animals, wild animals, and farmed animals.
For years, we have produced reports and studies showing the environmental impact caused by agribusiness and factory farming, including its significant contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. The sector has a devastating history on the country's biomes, deforesting native vegetation for decades to cultivate crops, mainly soybeans, which are destined for animal feed production.”
According to a study by the Climate Observatory, 78 percent of Brazilian emissions from food manufacturing are caused by beef production. JBS, a Brazilian conglomerate, is the world’s biggest factory farming company and the planet’s largest beef producer.
The company’s USA subsidiary was recently sued by New York State’s Attorney General Letitia James for making misleading statements about the company’s environmental impact. Attorney General James’s office called out JBS’s beef production in the lawsuit specifically as it’s a significant contributor to global climate change, the top driver of deforestation in tropical forests, and creating more greenhouse gasses than any other major food commodity.
With climate change becoming a growing threat and factory farming being one of its biggest contributors globally, we must take action to protect animals.
Vow to pull your support of an industry that not only deceives consumers, destroys our planet, and puts our health at risk, but also tortures animals through cruel confinement, mutilations, unnatural, stressful conditions, and ultimately a painful death.
Your support will also help us educate others on the importance of disaster preparedness and how supporters like you can help end the suffering of animals around the world. Please donate today.