Dr. Jane Goodall and a group of organizations, academics, and advocates are calling on to end factory farming.
Factory farming has led to “extreme cruelty” to billions of animals and is harming our planet. As Dr. Goodall says, “We’re making unsustainable demands on the natural world.” But there’s hope! By embracing more plant-based options, we can restore biodiversity, slow climate change, and build a healthier future for both animals and people.
🍃 Take action today: Reduce your consumption of factory-farmed products, opt for plant-based choices where possible, and support farms that prioritize sustainability.
"Choosing to eat differently does not have to be a radical change" says Jane. Even small changes — like cutting back on meat, supporting local farmers, or spreading awareness — makes a positive impact. After all, "What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make."
Let's join them in advocating for a future where all animals are treated with care and respect.
Dear World Bank Group Executive Directors
We, the undersigned organizations, academics, and advocates, call on the World Bank Group to take immediate and decisive action to align its policies, including IFC’s Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability, with the goals of global frameworks including the UNFCCC Paris Agreement, UN SDGs, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework as well as updated industry-specific GIIPs as part of its mission to address climate change. This is particularly timely as the IFC prepares to revise its Sustainability Framework.
Factory farming—the industrial production of animals for food—directly undermines these goals by driving climate change, deforestation, zoonotic disease outbreaks, and the suffering of billions of animals, as well as exacerbating social inequalities, particularly for women and impoverished communities, who bear the brunt of environmental degradation, precarious labor conditions and increased gender based violence in the surroundings of slaughterhouses annually.
As an institution committed to sustainable development, the World Bank Group must lead by example and stop financing this destructive sector. Specifically, we urge the World Bank Group to:
- Exclude factory farming from its financing: Adopt a formal exclusion policy to end financing of industrial animal agriculture, recognizing its intersectional impacts on climate, biodiversity, and social injustice, including gender inequality.
- Commit to phasing out existing projects: Halt additional financing to factory farm clients. Redirect financial flows toward food systems that use agro-ecological practices and high animal welfare standards, that support smallholder farmers and communities, and that are just, equitable, gender-inclusive, and protective of fair labor conditions.
This is a critical moment. By taking bold action to phase out financing for factory farming, the World Bank Group can accelerate the global transition to equitable, resilient food systems that work for people, animals, and the planet. We stand ready to support this transition and urge you to act swiftly to ensure that World Bank Group policies advance a sustainable and ethical future.