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General News    H3'ed 10/10/25
  

US Meat Giant, JBS, Lauds Ozempic Trend


Martha Rosenberg
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It's no secret that GLP-1 agonist diet drugs like Ozempic have created a Wall Street gold rush. Twenty million Americans now use the weight-loss drugs with an estimated 48 million considering usage.The get-thin-quick drugs make the statin drug craze look like a flash in the pain.

While a pill that confers thinness with no exercise is inherently saleable, what are the effects on the food industry? Restaurateurs and grocers note changes in eating behavior and savvy food chains have long since rolled out GLP-1 agonist friendly products.

But cynics ask whether there is some kind of collusion between Big Pharma and Big Food. Kickbacks for making so many--estimated as a third of Americans--fat? Or censorship on news sites of UKs decision to ban ads for fattening foods which are highly linked to obesity but also constitute half of all news outlet revenue.

JBS Weighs In Pun Intended

Now comes news that Wesley Batista, the founder of JBS, the world's largest meat producer and No. 1 beef exporter in the world likes the fat drug trend. "No one knows exactly what is the impact of these new drugs, Ozempic or Mounjarobut something is happening because protein overall became [a trend]," said the Brazilian billionaire. "In the pastthe doctor said you should not eat too [many] eggs, you should not eat too much protein. Now its the other way around."

Observing in London that the diet drug users need more protein to ensure muscle density, Batista predicted greater beef imports to the US because the country is under producing the meat. While underreported, cows in dairy herds in the US are succumbing to bird flu as it continues to jump species,

Behind Batistas Headlines

JBS is the poster child for agricultural economic consolidation and intensification and its downsides. It bought out the meat giant Swift in 2007, other giant Smithfield in 2008 and Pilgrim's Pride in 2009 to become the world's top meat conglomerate. Few noticed the monopolization.

Despite accusations of tax avoidance through offshore profit shifting, bribery, corruption, price fixing, human rights and labor abuses and widespread deforestation from its many ranches, the beef giant was recently listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

"The decision to allow JBS to list on the NYSE has drawn heavy scrutiny from civil society organizations," reported Global Witness

No one would expect a meat tycoon to acknowledge the many sources of protein that do not involve slaughter like legumes (beans, lentils, peas, edamame), nuts and seeds, soy products (tofu, tempeh), and whole grains (quinoa, seitan). Or the many strong athletes like NFL quarterback Cam Newton and former players David Carter, Hctor Bellerin and Derrick Morgan who decline meat protein. Big Meat's abrogation of the protein moniker is why they can call slaughterhouses protein plants. Yes, you read that right. No death, blood and screams here.

Still, there is likely no industry that causes as much environment, worker, animal, economic and human harm (think strokes and cancer), as the meat industry, now fast tracked by Big Pharma's new diet drugs.

(Article changed on Oct 10, 2025 at 4:53 PM EDT)

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Martha Rosenberg is an award-winning investigative public health reporter who covers the food, drug and gun industries. Her first book, Born With A Junk Food Deficiency: How Flaks, Quacks and Hacks Pimp The Public Health, is distributed by (more...)
 

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