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58-650: JBS USA Holdings, Inc. is a meat processing company and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Brazilian multinational JBS S.A. The subsidiary was created when JBS entered the U.S. market in 2007 with its purchase of Swift & Company . JBS USA is based in Greeley, Colorado . Its competitors include Hormel Foods , Cargill , Smithfield Foods , National Beef , and Tyson Foods . Swift & Company operations can be traced back to 1855, when 16-year-old Gustavus Franklin Swift founded

116-619: A Delaware company which operates at 1770 Promontory Circle Greeley CO and had André Nogueira de Souza as CFO , filed notice with the SEC that it desired to float an IPO , and listed 38 subsidiaries. Four accounting firms were listed on the Prospectus, the last to file being BDO Seidman LLP of Dallas TX on 21 July 2009. On 22 July 2009, BDO filed notice with the SEC that unaudited statements had been filed and that they were not endorsed by BDO. This torpedoed

174-586: A $ 175,000 civil penalty against JBS/Swift on December 22, 2010, for violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act by failing to disclose when missing Fat-O-Meat’er data had prevented JBS from calculating the lean percentage of a particular pork carcass or carcasses in a seller's lot, and substituting an undisclosed lean value for pork carcasses with missing data when calculating carcass-merit payment for hogs delivered to JBS’ Worthington, MN, Marshalltown, IA, and Louisville, KY, processing plants. The Packers and Stockyards Act

232-726: A butchering operation in Eastham, Massachusetts . Its early origins on Cape Cod led later to locations in Brighton (in Massachusetts), and Albany , and Buffalo, New York . In 1875, Swift and Company was incorporated in Chicago. Swift and Armour and Company acquired a two-thirds controlling interest in the Fort Worth Stockyards in 1902. That same year, an antitrust lawsuit was filed against Swift for conspiring with other companies to control

290-642: A few decades workers achieved blue-collar , middle-class lives from it. Though the meat-packing industry has made many improvements since the early 1900s, extensive changes in the industry since the late 20th century have caused new labor issues to arise. Today, the rate of injury in the meat-packing industry is three times that of the private industry overall, and meat-packing was noted by Human Rights Watch as being "the most dangerous factory job in America". The meatpacking industry continues to employ many immigrant laborers, including some who are undocumented workers . In

348-549: A finger or limb per month. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism reported that over a period of six years in the UK , 78 slaughter workers lost fingers, parts of fingers or limbs, more than 800 workers had serious injuries, and at least 4,500 had to take more than three days off after accidents. In a 2018 study in the Italian Journal of Food Safety, slaughterhouse workers are instructed to wear ear protectors to protect their hearing from

406-429: A hog in the eye that's walking around in the blood pit with you and think, 'God, that really isn't a bad-looking animal.' You may want to pet it. Pigs down on the kill floor have come up to nuzzle me like a puppy. Two minutes later I had to kill them—beat them to death with a pipe. I can't care. The act of slaughtering animals or of raising or transporting animals for slaughter may engender psychological stress or trauma in

464-626: A scarce commodity. Medical historian Benjamin Prinz has therefore pointed to the fragility of today's healthcare systems, which themselves participate in environmentally destructive and disease-causing production chains. Contemporary concerns about the meat industry within the American context have often been colored by the COVID-19 Pandemic and the resulting supply chain issues. Beyond the consumer perspective, workers were expected to drastically increase

522-500: A small ration of meat for urban citizens only to the world's largest meat producer; it was a movement from a handful of processing facilities in major cities to thousands of modern meat-packing and processing plants throughout the country, alongside the rapid growth of a middle-class with spending money. In the early 20th century, meatpacking companies employed new immigrants as strikebreakers during labor actions initiated by existing workers, who were often earlier immigrants themselves or

580-601: A subsidiary of JBS, to install electronic on-board recorders on their trucks after a compliance review found "serious violation" of federal hours of service . On December 2, 2010, JBS announced that it would use Arrowsight, a remote video auditing company, to monitor proper sanitation to prevent cross contamination during processing. They also use Arrowsight to monitor their live cattle for proper animal welfare practices. These programs have shown great success. The Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration assessed

638-621: A ten-month investigation into identity theft . In March 2021, JBS pledged to reach net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2040- the first global meat company to do so. This followed evidence from investigative journalist Dom Phillips of links in the JBS supply chain to illegal deforestation in the Amazon. The company pledged to eliminate illegal deforestation, including in the threatened Cerrado region, from its supply chains by 2030. In March 2024, New York Attorney General Letitia James sued JBS USA for violating

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696-521: A variety of negative health outcomes. By 1900, the dominant meat-packers were: In the 1990s, the dominant meat-packers were: Current significant meat-packers in the United States include: Beef Packers: Pork Packers: Broiler Chickens: Outside the United States: Tender offer In corporate finance , a tender offer is a type of public takeover bid. The tender offer

754-482: A vision for building much larger markets. The 1865–1873 era provided five factors that expanded the industry to a national scale: In Milwaukee, Philip Armour , an ambitious entrepreneur from New York who made his fortune in Army contracts during the war, partnered with Jacob Plankinton to build a highly efficient stockyard that serviced the upper Midwest. Chicago built the famous Union Stockyards in 1865 on 345 swampy acres to

812-484: Is a fair trade practice and payment protection law that promotes fair and competitive marketing environments for the livestock, meat, and poultry industries. In 2019, the Trump administration allocated US$ 62.4 million to JBS USA from a fund to intended help U.S. farmers affected by the trade war with China. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a contract in the same year to purchase US$ 22.3 million worth of pork from

870-405: Is a public, open offer or invitation (usually announced in a newspaper advertisement) by a prospective acquirer to all stockholders of a publicly traded corporation (the target corporation) to tender their stock for sale at a specified price during a specified time, subject to the tendering of a minimum and maximum number of shares. In a tender offer, the bidder contacts shareholders directly;

928-471: Is that the pharmaceutical industry obtains basic materials for its products from the meat-packing industry; for example, tissue extracts from slaughterhouse waste. In the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, this led to the paradoxical situation that mass slaughterhouses were infection drivers due to the bad labor conditions and at the same time suppliers of important therapeutics such as heparin , which subsequently became

986-597: The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 , a bidder must file Schedule TO with the SEC upon commencement of the tender offer. Among the matters required to be disclosed in schedule TO are: (i) a term sheet which summarizes the material terms of the tender offer in plain English; (ii) the bidder's identity and background; and (iii) the bidder's history with the target company. In addition, a potential acquirer must file Schedule 13D within 10 days of acquiring more than 5% of

1044-569: The U.S. Congress led to the passage of the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act (both passed in 1906 on the same day) to ensure better regulations of the meat-packing industry. In the 1920s and early 1930s, workers achieved unionization under the CIO 's United Packinghouse Workers of America (UPWA). An interracial committee led the organizing in Chicago , where the majority of workers in

1102-562: The 2009 IPO of JBS USA. On October 18, 2012, JBS USA announced it would take over management of XL Foods ' Lakeside beefpacking plant in Brooks, Alberta , for 60 days with an exclusive option to buy XL Foods' Canada and U.S. operations. On January 14, 2013, JBS USA completed the purchase of the Brooks facility, a second XL beef facility in Calgary, Alberta , and a feedyard. In July 2015, JBS USA purchased

1160-610: The Argentine industry finally secured a large slice of the British market, Pateros and trade restrictions limited its penetration of the Continent. Meat in China moved from a minor specialty commodity to a major factor in the food supply in the late 20th century thanks to the rapid emergence of a middle class with upscale tastes and plenty of money. It was a transition from a country able to provide

1218-604: The Brookfield, Pauly, and Treasure Cave brands, and Peter Pan peanut butter. Swift began selling frozen turkeys under the Butterball brand in 1954. Gustavus Swift also championed the refrigerated railroad car . In the 1960s, Swift expanded into other fields, including insurance and petroleum, and formed the holding company Esmark in 1973. Two years later, Esmark bought International Playtex from Meshulam Riklis ' Rapid-American Corporation. Esmark sold off Globe Life Insurance to

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1276-679: The Coronavirus Crisis released a report in May 2022 detailing the relationship between the Trump administration and the meat packing industry during the COVID-19 pandemic . The report describes the CEO of JBS (along with the CEOs of Tyson and Smithfield) asking the secretary of agriculture, Sonny Perdue , about elevating the need for workers to stay present at work, despite the risk of working in close quarters during

1334-705: The Easter holidays, with the plant being closed until April 24, 2020. Testing of all did not take place over Easter; rather, a JBS company spokesman announced that workers would be quarantined. The plant reopened after a 9-day closure. By April 15, 102 workers had tested positive for the coronavirus, and four had died. Outbreaks of COVID-19 have also been found in six other JBS beef processing plants, in Souderton, Pennsylvania ; Plainwell, Michigan ; Green Bay, Wisconsin ; Cactus, Texas ; Grand Island, Nebraska ; and Hyrum, Utah . The United States House Select Oversight Subcommittee on

1392-469: The PTSD Journal explain, "These employees are hired to kill animals, such as pigs and cows that are largely gentle creatures. Carrying out this action requires workers to disconnect from what they are doing and from the creature standing before them. This emotional dissonance can lead to consequences such as domestic violence, social withdrawal, anxiety, drug and alcohol abuse, and PTSD". Slaughterhouses in

1450-466: The Ryan Insurance Group in 1977. Esmark left the petroleum business in 1980, selling Vickers Petroleum to Mobil, while Swift's fresh-meat business was spun off as a separate company, Swift Independent Packing Company (SIPCO), the same year. Esmark went on to purchase Norton Simon Inc. in 1983 before being purchased by Beatrice Foods the next year. ConAgra purchased 50% of SIPCO in 1987 and

1508-410: The Swift companies had also completed several tender offers and consent solicitations for financing notes. These included 10⅛% senior notes due 2009 and 12½% senior subordinated notes due January 1, 2010, both issued by Swift & Company, 11% senior notes due 2010 issued by S&C Holdco 3 and 10¼% convertible senior subordinated notes due 2010 issued by Swift Foods Company. In 2008, JBS purchased

1566-546: The U.S. pork processing business of Cargill Meat Solutions for $ 1.45 billion. In December 2006, six of the company's meat-packing facilities in Colorado , Nebraska , Texas , Utah , Iowa , and Minnesota were raided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, resulting in the apprehension of 1,282 undocumented immigrants from Mexico , Guatemala , Honduras , El Salvador , Peru , Laos , Sudan , and Ethiopia , and nearly 200 of them were criminally charged after

1624-467: The United States commonly illegally employ and exploit underage workers and illegal immigrants. In 2010, Human Rights Watch described slaughterhouse line work in the United States as a human rights crime. In a report by Oxfam America , slaughterhouse workers were observed not being allowed breaks, were often required to wear diapers, and were paid below minimum wage. Another problem in this context

1682-615: The adjacent St. Paul Union Stockyards. The live animals were driven across overhead ramps to the killing floors. Swift processed fresh, smoked, table-ready, canned meats, such as PREM, and baby foods, along with soap, lard, shortening, adhesives, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, hides and animal feeds. Operations were discontinued at the South St. Paul Plant effective November 29, 1969. In addition to meatpacking, Swift sold various dairy and grocery items, including Swiftning shortening , Allsweet margarine , Brookfield butter , cheese under

1740-400: The amount of contaminated droplets in the air. More than 50,000 meat packing workers contracted the disease and over 200 died. Disease is not evenly distributed throughout factories and all workers in a given factory are not at equal risk for exposure and negative health outcomes despite working the same job. In particular, the overlap of immigration status and workplace exposures can result in

1798-409: The average American worker. NPR reports that pig and cattle slaughterhouse workers are nearly seven times more likely to suffer repetitive strain injuries than average. The Guardian reports that on average there are two amputations a week involving slaughterhouse workers in the United States . On average, one employee of Tyson Foods , the largest meat producer in America, is injured and amputates

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1856-444: The beef operations of Smithfield Foods for $ 565 million. JBS also announced in 2008 its intention to buy National Beef Packing Company for $ 560 million, but canceled the plan after the U.S. Department of Justice raised antitrust concerns. In 2009, JBS USA acquired 63% of Pilgrim's Pride Chicken Company and shortened the name to simply Pilgrim's. JBS subsequently increased its ownership share to 75.3%. In 2009, JBS USA Holdings,

1914-471: The cattle to lose considerable weight. Swift developed a large business, which grew in size with the entry of several competitors. The Bureau of Corporations , predecessor of the Federal Trade Commission investigated the country's meatpackers for anti-competitive practices in the first decade of the 1900s. The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 was the first of a series of legislation that led to

1972-481: The company. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and Attorney General Jeff Sessions requested the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate a possible case of corruption. There were also indications that JBS benefited from trade tensions with increased sales in China. JBS stated that despite being a foreign company, it supports American farmers by creating job opportunities. In May 2019, Representative Rosa DeLauro from Connecticut claimed that President Donald Trump

2030-609: The constant screams of animals being killed. A 2004 study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that "excess risks were observed for mortality from all causes, all cancers, and lung cancer" in workers employed in the New Zealand meat processing industry. The worst thing, worse than the physical danger, is the emotional toll. If you work in the stick pit [where hogs are killed] for any period of time—that lets [sic] you kill things but doesn't let you care. You may look

2088-534: The construction of railroads and methods of refrigeration for meat preservation . Railroads made possible the transport of stock to central points for processing, and the transport of products. Before the American Civil War , the meat industry was localized, with farmers providing beef and hogs for nearby butchers to serve the local market. Large Army contracts during the Civil War attracted entrepreneurs with

2146-475: The directors of the company may or may not have endorsed the tender offer proposal. To induce the shareholders of the target company to sell, the acquirer's offer price is usually at a premium over the current market price of the target company's shares. For example, if a target corporation's stock was trading at $ 10 per share, an acquirer might offer $ 11.50 per share to shareholders on the condition that 51% of shareholders agree. Cash or securities may be offered to

2204-641: The early 20th century the workers were immigrants from eastern and southern Europe and black migrants from the South. Today, many meatpacking workers are Hispanics hailing from Mexico, Central and South America. A notable amount of workers are from Peru, leading to the formation of a large Peruvian community in the industry. The isolated areas in which many plants are located put these workers at greater risk due to their limited ability to organize and seek redress for work-related injuries. American slaughterhouse workers are three times more likely to suffer serious injury than

2262-691: The establishment of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Another such act passed the same year was the Federal Meat Inspection Act . The new laws helped the large packers, and hurt small operations that lacked economy of scale or quality controls. Historian William Cronon concludes: The industry after 1945 closed its stockyards in big cities like Chicago and moved operations to small towns close to cattle ranches, especially in Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado. Historically, besides Cincinnati, Chicago and Omaha,

2320-646: The immediate descendants of immigrants. The publication of the Upton Sinclair novel The Jungle in the U.S. in 1906 shocked the public with the poor working conditions and unsanitary practices in the meat-packing plants in the United States, specifically Chicago . Meat-packing plants, like many industries in the early 20th century, overworked their employees, failed to maintain adequate safety measures, and actively fought unionization. Meat-packing workers were exposed to dangerous chemicals and sharp machinery, and routinely suffered horrible injuries. Public pressure of

2378-475: The industry were black, and other major cities, such as Omaha, Nebraska , where they were an important minority in the industry. UPWA workers made important gains in wages, hours and benefits. In 1957, the stockyards and meat-packing plants employed half the workers of Omaha. The union supported a progressive agenda, including the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. While the work was still difficult, for

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2436-470: The meatpacking industry. The companies attempted to merge to avoid the suit, leading to the 1905 Supreme Court case of Swift & Co. v. United States . By the 1920s Swift and Company operated their largest and most modern meat processing plant in South St Paul, Minnesota . The purpose of this plant was to slaughter and process cattle, hogs, and sheep. These animals were procured by the company buyers at

2494-426: The number of jobs fell sharply due to technology and other changes. Wages fell during the latter part of the 20th century, and eventually, both Chicago (in 1971) and Omaha (in 1999) closed their stockyards. The workforce increasingly relied on recent migrants from Mexico. Argentina had the natural resources and human talent to build a world-class meat-packing industry. However, its success in reaching European markets

2552-552: The other major meat-packing cities had been South St. Paul, Minnesota ; East St. Louis, Illinois ; Dubuque, Iowa ; Kansas City, Missouri ; Austin, Minnesota ; Sioux Falls, South Dakota ; and Sioux City, Iowa . Mid-century restructuring by the industry of the stockyards, slaughterhouses and meat-packing plants led to relocating facilities closer to cattle feedlots and swine production facilities, to more rural areas, as transportation shifted from rail to truck. It has been difficult for labor to organize in such locations. In addition,

2610-414: The pandemic. JBS USA was the target of a cyberattack in May 2021. The attack disrupted all JBS facilities in the United States. In 2022, JBS agreed to a $ 52.5 million settlement without admission of wrongdoing in a lawsuit brought by grocers and wholesalers, which accused JBS, National Beef, Cargill, and Tyson of working together to drive up the price of beef. In 2024, McDonald's Corporation sued JBS and

2668-614: The people involved. A 2016 study in Organization indicates, "Regression analyses of data from 10,605 Danish workers across 44 occupations suggest that slaughterhouse workers consistently experience lower physical and psychological well-being along with increased incidences of negative coping behavior". A 2009 study by criminologist Amy Fitzgerald indicates, "slaughterhouse employment increases total arrest rates, arrests for violent crimes, arrests for rape, and arrests for other sex offenses in comparison with other industries". As authors from

2726-471: The rate at which they process animals. For instance, workers were expected to process 175 birds per minute up from 140 birds per minute. In part this was due to shortages of workers. Workers within the industry were often in the news for large outbreaks within factories. By its nature meat processing requires close proximity to other workers and exposure to a slew of bacteria and viruses. Additionally, workers often have to yell over loud machinery which increases

2784-564: The recall included over 421,000 lb (191,000 kg). The beef products were produced on April 21 and 22, 2009, and were shipped to distributors and retail establishments in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois , Michigan, Minnesota , Nebraska, Oregon, South Carolina , Tennessee , Texas, Utah , and Wisconsin. On November 4, 2010, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ordered JBS Carriers,

2842-520: The remainder of ConAgra's stake in 2004. On July 12, 2007, JBS purchased Swift & Company in a US$ 1.5-billion, all-cash deal. The acquisition made the newly consolidated JBS Swift Group the largest beef processor in the world. Prior to the deal, JBS had a market capitalization of US$ 4.2 billion and sales revenue of $ 2.1 billion, and operated in 23 plants in Brazil and five in Argentina . On July 11, 2007,

2900-413: The remaining portion in 1989, the same year ConAgra bought Beatrice Foods. ConAgra merged SIPCO's operations with that of Monfort, the meatpacker it had purchased in 1987, and the division was renamed Swift & Company in 1995. In 2002, ConAgra sold a majority stake in Swift & Company to Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst , a Dallas-based private-equity firm, and Booth Creek Management. Hicks, Muse bought

2958-530: The same three other companies along with their subsidiaries for alleged price fixing . Meat processing In the United States and some other countries, the facility where the meat packing is done is called a slaughterhouse , packinghouse or a meat-packing plant ; in New Zealand , where most of the products are exported, it is called a freezing works . An abattoir is a place where animals are slaughtered for food. The meat-packing industry grew with

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3016-517: The south of downtown. Armour opened the Chicago plant, as did Nelson Morris , another wartime contractor. Cincinnati and Buffalo , both with good water and rail service, also opened stockyards. Perhaps the most energetic entrepreneur was Gustavus Franklin Swift , the Yankee who operated out of Boston and moved to Chicago in 1875, specializing in long distance refrigerated meat shipments to eastern cities. A practical refrigerated (ice-cooled) rail car

3074-422: The state's general business laws on deceptive practices and false advertising. The lawsuit alleges that since a majority of Americans prefer and are willing to pay more for net-zero products, JBS initiated its "Net Zero by 2040" marketing campaign before even identifying its Scope 3 emissions arising from the full supply chain of meat production. At the 2023 Climate Week NYC event, JBS S.A. CEO Gilberto Tomazoni

3132-515: The target company's shareholders, although a tender offer in which securities are offered as consideration is generally referred to as an " exchange offer ". In the United States , tender offers are regulated by the Williams Act . SEC Regulation 14E also governs tender offers. It covers such matters as: In the United States, under the Williams Act , codified in Section 13(d) and Section 14(d)(1) of

3190-463: Was introduced in 1881. This made it possible to ship cattle and hog carcasses, which weighed only 40% as much as live animals; the entire national market, served by the railroads, was opened up, as well as transatlantic markets using refrigerated ships . Swift developed an integrated network of cattle procurement, slaughtering, meat-packing, and shipping meat to market. Up to that time, cattle were driven great distances to railroad shipping points, causing

3248-416: Was limited by the poor quality control in the production of its meat and the general inferiority of frozen meat to the chilled meat exported by the United States and Australia. By 1900, the Argentine government encouraged investment in the industry to improve quality. The British dominated the world shipping industry and began fitting their ships for cold air containers, and built new refrigerated steamers. When

3306-615: Was questioned by New York Times reporter David Gelles over the Better Business Bureau's determination that JBS' net zero marketing was unsubstantiated, given that the company lacked specific planning to execute on this goal. On June 24, 2009, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced that JBS Swift Beef Company, a Greeley, Colorado, establishment, recalled about 41,280 lb (18,720 kg) of beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 . By June 30,

3364-420: Was unaware of the situation. The JBS facility in Greeley, Colorado came into national focus during the COVID-19 outbreak when at least 50 workers tested positive by April 10, 2020, and two workers had died of the disease. By April 14 a third worker had died of COVID-19. U.S. President Donald Trump referred to the case in the daily White House briefing on April 10. All workers were supposed to be tested during

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