by Ben Williamson

Factory farming could not exist without huge investments made by the financial sector. As we stand today, because of these investment decisions factory farming continues to grow, imperiling our future and spreading destructive forms of animal production to more parts of the world.

Compassion in World Farming believes that these bad investments must end

Large agribusiness corporations involved in factory farming often secure financing through loans and bonds issued by financial institutions. These loans provide the capital necessary for these corporations to further expand their operations, build new facilities, and acquire additional animals. Investors typically aim to profit from the interest generated by these loans, without much consideration of the impact of their investment decisions on human health, the environment, and the lives of animals suffering on factory farms.

Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) (such as the Washington DC-based World Bank Group, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Inter-American Development Bank) make up a significant part of the funding of large agricultural infrastructure projects. While such large financial institutions are typically aware of the enormous impact their giant resources can have on the planet, and often take international agreements, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement into account, they can often be so far removed from how the expansion or construction of new factory farms affect animals and local communities on the ground, that some of their lending projects run the risk of breaking the banks’ own policies.

This is where the effort to Stop Financing Factory Farming comes in

Compassion in World Farming is a member of the Stop Financing Factory Farming (S3F) coalition, which is leading the resistance to MDB support of industrial livestock production. The coalition educates bank leaders and the public on why shifting investments towards agroecological farming systems that put communities first and help protect the planet, are a safer and more sustainable long-term investment.