Thanks for sharing this example, Asampana. Do you have a rough idea of what it would take to prevent this expansion, i.e., at what level does the relevant decision-making power lie? And are there existing political movements or currents that are conducive to success?
I once heard a talk by @Daniela Waldhorn that raised the thought experiment of “what if animal advocates had established a movement against factory farming when it was still in its infancy?” There may be something to the case that a large number of people could be mobilized to support such bans and that opposition to them is surmountable when the industry is still young. But it still seems likely that JBS would seek to expand elsewhere instead.
It might be helpful to distinguish between two different strategies:
Advocating to prevent expansion: For this, I would presume you need political decision-makers to obstruct the project. I’m skeptical that sufficient political power can be mobilized from animal advocates alone. I think you need causes that mobillizes more people, such as environmental, job displacement, food sovereignty/quality, anti foreign business, etc.
Advocating for stronger animal welfare regulations: This feels more achievable if the regulations don’t impose large costs, but it may be harder to draw in meaningful support from other causes. Even so, getting new regulations is hard. IIRC, the biggest animal welfare regulations in the US were won via ballot measures, where voters’ views could directly accept/reject policy, not by influencing politicians to legislate. It might be relevant to consider how protections were won in other countries.
These are just speculations, perhaps this is a false dichotomy.