If you care about where your food comes from, this is a big one. For the first time in history, Brazil has overtaken the United States as the world’s largest beef producer. It barely made headlines. But it’s a seismic shift in the global food system—one with major implications for American ranchers, consumers, and anyone who cares about transparency in their food supply.
According to the USDA's latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, Brazil is expected to produce 26.23 billion pounds of beef this year, edging out the U.S. at 25.9 billion pounds. Just last year, America led by nearly a billion pounds. Now we’re in second place.
How Did This Happen?
Much of the change comes down to one company: JBS, the world’s largest meatpacker, based in Brazil. JBS entered the U.S. market in the early 2000s by acquiring Swift & Company using illegally obtained funds. Since then, they’ve grown to control massive portions of the American beef supply. In some years, they even compete with Tyson for the top spot.
Their rise hasn’t been without scandal. JBS’s owners have been convicted of bribing over 1,800 government officials, both in Brazil and internationally. The company has faced billions in fines and was even banned from exporting meat to the U.S. at one point due to food safety concerns. Despite all this, JBS now has a major foothold in the U.S. beef supply chain—and they’re influencing more than just processing plants.
The Disappearance of Labels
Right around the time JBS was ramping up U.S. operations, something else quietly disappeared: mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL). This allowed beef from places like Brazil to be sold in U.S. grocery stores without disclosing its origin. Unless you’re buying from a local farmer or butcher, there’s a good chance you don’t know where your beef is coming from.
This creates a perfect storm—foreign beef enters the U.S. market with lower production standards, questionable oversight, and no way for consumers to tell the difference.
A Shift Toward Vertical Integration
Some in the cattle world are calling this the beef industry’s “hog moment”—a reference to the pork industry’s full-scale takeover by corporate giants. Just like hog producers, American cattle ranchers are being squeezed out. In the last five years alone, the U.S. lost over 107,000 small cattle operations, according to the USDA.
What’s taking their place? Vertical integration, where a few mega-corporations control every link in the chain—from birth to burger. It's efficient on paper, but it comes at a cost: less transparency, less competition, and less independence for both producers and consumers.
Biosecurity, Broken Borders, and the Screwworm Scare
Adding fuel to the fire is a resurgence of the New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite that threatens cattle herds. Originally eradicated in the U.S. in the 1980s, screwworms are now creeping north through Mexico. The U.S. has been pumping resources into controlling the spread, while the Mexican government has come under fire for lax compliance.
And yet, some industry groups—like the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA)—continue to lobby for open borders for Mexican cattle. That same week, Brazil overtook the U.S. in beef production. Coincidence?
The connection? Brazil is now exporting massive amounts of beef to Mexico, which can then make its way into the U.S. market with little oversight, thanks again to the removal of COOL.
So What Can You Do?
If this feels complicated, that’s because it is. The modern food system is a web of lobbying, trade deals, and opaque supply chains. But you still have one very powerful tool: your food choices.
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Buying local, grass-fed beef and pasture-raised pork from Florida farms, especially if you're in Cocoa or Brevard County, means you’re supporting transparency, sustainability, and independence.
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You’re also keeping your dollars in the local economy, building relationships with the people who grow your food.
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And you know exactly where your meat comes from—something the industrial system is working overtime to keep hidden.