Stop Financing Factory Farming Coalition Launches Major Effort at World Bank Annual Meetings to Demand End to Industrial Livestock Financing
Stop Financing Factory Farming
21st October '24

For immediate release:
October 21, 2024
Contact:
Holly Shulman for Stop Financing Factory Farming
[email protected], +1-603-715-4321
Washington, D.C. – At this year’s World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings, the Stop Financing Factory Farming (S3F) coalition has launched a major campaign to urge global leaders to recognize the harmful impact of the World Bank Group’s continued funding of industrial livestock, which directly undermines its own climate commitments.
In 2023 alone, development banks and international financial institutions invested a staggering $2.27 billion into industrial livestock production—one of the highest-polluting sectors. This financing stands in direct opposition to the World Bank’s stated goals to combat climate change and its mission to “end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity on a livable planet.”
At the Annual Meetings, S3F is calling for the World Bank to immediately halt financing the expansion of factory farming and to redirect its investments toward sustainable, climate-friendly food systems. S3F has deployed a range of high-impact tactics alongside the Annual Meetings to drive home the urgency of its message:
- Targeted Ads: S3F has placed eye-catching ads at five bus shelters surrounding World Bank headquarters and in Devex’s widely-read Invested newsletter, exposing the socio-environmental damage caused by industrial livestock financing. Some of the ads directly challenge the World Bank’s climate hypocrisy, highlighting the Bank’s own acknowledgment that transitioning away from industrial livestock is crucial for climate action, while calling attention to the Bank’s continued inaction. Other ads feature testimonials from Indigenous leaders about the harms of World Bank-funded industrial livestock projects in their communities.
- New Analysis: A new analysis reveals that the World Bank, alongside other financial institutions, is channeling billions of dollars into industrial livestock—a major driver of greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and biodiversity loss. This analysis will provide a comprehensive look at how these investments contradict global climate goals. Read the full analysis here.
- Video Campaign: S3F is distributing a short video that underscores the gap between the World Bank’s climate promises and its investments in industrial livestock. The video is being promoted via a LinkedIn ad campaign and social media to reach key decision makers at the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Watch the video here.
- World Bank Action Day Rally and March: On October 25, S3F, in collaboration with the Big Shift coalition, will host a rally and march demanding a just transition away from factory farming and toward sustainable food systems. More details about the rally and march are available here.
- Civil Society Policy Forum (CSPF) Panel: S3F will also lead a panel discussion during the World Bank Annual Meetings on October 24, focusing on the Bank’s own “Recipe for a Livable Planet” report which addresses the need to shift away from industrial livestock production. This event will bring together key stakeholders to discuss the means for a shift to sustainable food systems. More details about this and other CSPF panels can be found here (page 21).
“The World Bank talks a big game about climate action, but its investments tell a different story. By pouring billions into one of the most environmentally destructive sectors—industrial livestock production—the Bank is undermining its own climate goals, said Stop Financing Factory Farming Program Manager Ashley Schaeffer Yildiz. “We are demanding that the World Bank put its money where its mouth is, stop financing factory farming, and shift its investments to sustainable food systems that protect our planet and people. Anything less is a failure by the Bank to meet its own commitments and fulfill its mission.”
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About Stop Financing Factory Farming (S3F): The Stop Financing Factory Campaign works in partnership with locally affected communities and organizations to shift development finance away from industrial livestock production. Campaign Steering Committee members include: the Bank Information Center, Friends of the Earth U.S., the Global Forest Coalition, International Accountability Project (Early Warning System), Sinergia Animal, and World Animal Protection.