Who Owns Chickens? Corporate Power and Industrial Chicken Production in the Global South
FAO (2025a)[iv]
The explosive growth in chicken consumption is driven by a system of production focused on industrial “efficiency.” Because feed represents up to 70% of meat production costs[v], firms have engineered chickens into “protein conversion machines” that transform feed into meat faster than any other land animal. This has consequences for both chickens and the environment. Since the 1950s, broiler chicken bodyweight has increased by 400%, cutting time to reach slaughter weight by 66%[vi].
Zuidhof et al (2014: p2973)[vii]
Chickens are bred to grow so fast that their skeletons and organs cannot support their own bodyweight, causing chronic pain and premature death[viii]. Furthermore, the chicken industry’s feed use is gigantic. It consumes an estimated 27% of the world’s soybean production and 18% of its corn in 2023[ix]. This contributes significantly to deforestation in ecologically sensitive regions of the world.
We need to end this animal suffering and ecological devastation, but solutions are hard. One reason is that existing data on global chicken production makes it difficult to identify the specific firms and financial institutions that are ultimately responsible for driving the industry. In our report (see here), we focus on the production and ownership structures behind the expansion of chicken in four major countries: Brazil, Mexico, India and China. Using information published by US industry organisation WATTPoultry, we aggregate firm-level production and link with corporate ownership data[x]. For the first time, this tells us how many chickens are produced by each firm and who owns them.
Who Owns and Produces Chickens? The Findings
Our research reveals that in 2023, just 376 firms produced 55 billion chickens[xi], accounting for 73% of all chicken meat produced globally. Brazil, Mexico, India and China are home to 91 of these firms, producing a disproportionate 20.5 billion chickens - 29% of the global total[xii].
In Brazil, at the top sits JBS, the largest meat producer in the world at 4.1 billion chickens in 2024[xiii]. Crucially, major U.S. asset managers Blackrock and Vanguard hold significant stakes in each, alongside international pension funds and other financial institutions[xiv]. The second-largest firm, BRF, produced 1.7 billion chickens in 2024. Once again, Blackrock and Vanguard are major investors[xv].
Mexican chicken production is likewise dominated by two major firms, Industrias Bachoco and Pilgrim’s de Mexico. While Industrias Bachoco remains 73% privately owned by its founding family, Pilgrim’s de Mexico is owned by the Brazilian giant JBS, extending its dominance over multiple countries[xvi].
2BP (2011)[xxi]
In India, the market is dominated by private firms, yet global agribusiness and development finance institutions shape the industry’s growth. The largest producer in 2024 was Suguna, a private company, averaging 472 million chickens per year[xvii]. Between 2006-20, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank, invested $96 million to support Suguna’s growth in India, Bangladesh, and Kenya[xviii].
Finally, the ownership landscape in China is more fragmented, but shows the significant footprint of U.S. multinationals and publicly owned domestic firms. In 2024, 19 firms slaughtered a total of 7.2 billion chickens[xix]. Nine of these chicken firms are traded publicly in Hong Kong or China and one, Cargill China, is owned by Cargill Foods, a US agribusiness giant[xx].
Our findings from these four countries reveal how relatively few companies, backed by financial institutions, control chicken and therefore food production at a planetary scale. This is important as decisions about food and livelihoods are made for potential profits, overriding concerns over welfare. However, we can use this opportunity to utilise strategic levers of change to regain control over our food system and make equitable and humane decisions for people involved in it.
A Toolkit for Action
Financial Activism - The biggest chicken companies in Brazil and Mexico - JBS, BRF, and Pilgrim's Pride - are publicly traded. We can target key shareholders of these companies e.g. Blackrock and Vanguard, as well as pension funds that invest in them. The goal is to pressure these institutions to divest from industrial livestock, as seen from fossil fuel divestment campaigns[xxii].
Legal and Investigative Action - In India and China, the industry is dominated by private companies whose operations are opaque. Yet, investigative journalism and legal activism has proven effective e.g. in driving lawsuits over price-fixing filed against Suguna[xxiii] and investigations into forced labour in the supply chain of CP group in China[xxiv].
Corporate Campaigning - Many large food companies and retailers that sell chicken are sensitive to consumer pressure and brand reputation. Initiatives like the Better Chicken Commitment[xxv] mandates the use of slower-growing breeds, better living conditions via more space, light, nutrient enrichment, and third-party auditing. It has already been adopted by hundreds of firms in the U.S. and EU. Ultimately however, the best way to end suffering of broiler chickens is to eliminate industrial farming altogether[xxvi].
Government Advocacy - 90% of broiler chicken genetics is controlled by just two companies Tyson and EWG[xxvii]. This is a serious problem, creating vulnerability to disease outbreaks that could threaten the global food supply – to counter this we need research and development into indigenous chicken breeds. For example, research has shown that in India, native breeds have better adaptability to hot and humid tropical climate, resilience to some diseases, and an ability to scavenge from diverse food sources[xxviii][xxix].
Conclusion
Globally, the scale of industrial chicken production is vast, and the key decisions and government and corporate structures that drive them are often hidden. As we have shown in this research, we need to examine how the broiler chicken system is reproduced across different contexts and regions, both rich and poor, and identify the underlying ideology that sustains it. Only then can we begin to hold accountable the corporate actors, producers, and financial institutions that support and profit from the system.
Ambarish Karamchedu (ambarish.karamchedu@kcl.ac.uk)
Ambarish Karamchedu is a Lecturer in International Development at King’s College London. His research currently focuses on the agrarian political economy of industrial poultry in India, China, Mexico and Brazil. He has previously worked on the political economy of climate adaptation in smallholder agriculture in dryland India, focusing on GM cotton and groundwater irrigation.
Ben Coles (bfc2@leicester.ac.uk)
Ben Coles has a PhD in Geography from the University of London, UK. He is a Lecturer in Economic Geography at the University of Leicester. His research focuses on two key areas: 1) food, commodities and markets and 2) resource nexuses within the Anthropocene.
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