factory farming

The Storm Moved on, But North Carolina’s Hog Waste Didn’t

The Storm Moved on, But North Carolina’s Hog Waste Didn’t

By Emilie Karrick Surrusco It’s been nearly four months since Hurricane Florence battered the North Carolina coast, dumping 9 trillion gallons of water on the state in the span of four days. In Duplin County, home to the nation’s largest concentration of industrial hog operations, the storm’s deluge laid bare problems that persist in good […]

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    In a Warming World, Carolina CAFOs Are a Disaster for Farmers, Animals and Public Health

    In a Warming World, Carolina CAFOs Are a Disaster for Farmers, Animals and Public Health

    By Karen Perry Stillerman In the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, I’ve joined millions who’ve watched with horror as the Carolinas have been inundated with floodwaters and worried about the various hazards those waters can contain. We’ve seen heavy metal-laden coal ash spills, a nuclear plant go on alert (thankfully without incident), and sewage treatment plants […]

    Duke University Study: N.C. Residents Living Near Large Hog Farms Have Elevated Disease, Death Risks

    Duke University Study: N.C. Residents Living Near Large Hog Farms Have Elevated Disease, Death Risks

    By Olga Naidenko and Sydney Evans Residents of communities near industrial-scale hog farms in North Carolina face an increased risk of potentially deadly diseases, Duke University scientists reported in a study released this week. Researchers found that compared to communities without big hog farms, in the communities with the highest hog farm density, there were […]

    Under the USDA’s Definition, 90% of Iowa’s Farms Are ‘Family Farms’

    Under the USDA’s Definition, 90% of Iowa’s Farms Are ‘Family Farms’

    By Dan Nosowitz When you think of “family farms,” a nice bucolic image probably comes to mind: something small, maybe lower-budget or lower-tech, run by a family. According to the USDA’s definition, those farms definitely are “family farms.” But so, under this definition, are multi-thousand-acre corporate entities using automated machinery to grow genetically engineered corn. […]

    Will Hurricane Florence Flood North Carolina Factory Farms and Manure Pits?

    Will Hurricane Florence Flood North Carolina Factory Farms and Manure Pits?

    When Hurricane Matthew hit North Carolina in 2016, it flooded more than 140 feces-strewn industrial-scale swine and poultry barns, more than a dozen open pits brimming with liquid hog waste and thousands of acres of manure-saturated fields. As Hurricane Florence—far bigger than Matthew—bears down on the state, Environmental Working Group (EWG) and Waterkeeper Alliance are […]

    Investigation Exposes Animal Abuse at U.S. Supplier to World’s Largest Meat Company

    Investigation Exposes Animal Abuse at U.S. Supplier to World’s Largest Meat Company

    By Reynard Loki Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions and images of animal abuse. In September of last year, two executives of JBS, the world’s largest meat producer, based in Brazil, were arrested and charged with insider trading. In May 2017, the billionaire siblings—Wesley Batista, JBS’s CEO, and his younger brother Joesley, the firm’s former […]

    Why Non-GMO Plant Based Proteins Are One Solution to Factory Farming

    Why Non-GMO Plant Based Proteins Are One Solution to Factory Farming

    By Lisa Archer Friends of the Earth recently released a brief that raised important questions about laboratory-created animal replacement products (in vitro meat and genetically engineered proteins) that are in development or on the market ahead of robust health and environmental assessment, oversight and labeling. Some of the coverage and responses to our report created […]

    Superbugs Found in Nearly 80 Percent of U.S. Supermarket Meat

    Superbugs Found in Nearly 80 Percent of U.S. Supermarket Meat

    The latest round of tests by federal scientists found antibiotic-resistant bacteria on nearly 80 percent of supermarket meat in 2015, according to a new analysis by the Environmental Working Group. Those bacteria were resistant to at least one of 14 antibiotics tested for by the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System, a federal public health partnership. […]