The World Bank Must Stop Ploughing Funds into Factory Farming

DeSmog recently covered groundbreaking research by the Stop Financing Factory Farming (S3F) coalition, revealing that major multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, continue to pour billions into factory farming. The research exposed that in 2023, over $2.27 billion of the $3.33 billion invested in animal agriculture was funneled into industrial-scale operations. This comes despite Bank President Ajay Banga’s promise to prioritize climate-smart agriculture. Alessandro Ramazzotti, a researcher at the International Accountability Project, emphasized that the World Bank and other institutions are fueling deforestation, emissions, and human rights violations through their investments. Ramazzotti urged for a shift toward more sustainable farming models and called for an immediate reassessment of funding priorities.