The demand for food products “raised without antibiotics” is growing fast. In 2012, sales of these products had increased by 25 percent over the previous three years (1). The overuse of antibiotics in food-producing animals is being blamed for the increase in resistant bacteria, also known as “superbugs.” When these are passed to humans they […]
When a vandal shut off the ventilation at a Pilgrim’s Pride mega farm earlier this year, essentially baking the chickens alive, the poultry giant offered a $50,000 reward, lamenting that “these heinous acts resulted in a cruel death for several thousand chickens.” Yet strangely, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is now recommending the same […]
Factory farming has been expanding in the U.S. over the last two decades, and the size of those farms has increased dramatically—dominating the market, squeezing out smaller producers and setting the agenda for farming practices—to the detriment of food consumers. That’s the conclusion of a new study, Factory Farm Nation: 2015 Edition, released by Food & […]
Industrial-grade production of livestock animals has become the norm in the U.S. with 99 percent of all farmed animals raised on giant factory farms or CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operations). Tascosa Feedyard, Bushland, Texas. Photo credit: Mishka Henner These feedlots confine thousands of animals in small spaces before they are slaughtered, leading to a litany […]
The slogan on Wisconsin’s license plate—“America’s Dairyland”—celebrates the state’s number one agricultural activity and iconic status as a milk and cheese producer. What it doesn’t reveal is how dramatically the dairy industry in Wisconsin and in other parts of the U.S. has been changing, or the environmental concerns those changes pose. While milk carton imagery […]
The Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation and Waterkeeper Alliance issued a Notice of Intent to sue the current and former owners and operators of the Stilley swine feeding operation this week to stop illegal discharges of swine waste into groundwater, wetlands and streams that flow to the Trent River. [slideshow_deploy id=’346814′] The Stilley Facility, which confines more […]
By Martha Rosenberg The horrors of factory farming are multifold. Treating animals like heads of lettuce—“forget it’s an animal” says one farming magazine—has created institutionalized ruthlessness toward animals, workers and the environment at the same time it harms humans who eat the products. Factory farming even damages the economy thanks to meat-related obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer, and […]
by Kai Olson-Sawyer It’s a big world out there. On second thought, it feels like the world is getting smaller. Trends point toward a planet that will be even more crowded and tightly bound than ever as the population soars from seven to nine billion and prosperity rises for hundreds of millions by 2050. Such global forecasts have […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) unveiled a new plan Wednesday to reduce the number of salmonella outbreaks linked to meat and poultry. Included is a controversial rollout of a pilot program that would speed up poultry processing lines and replace some USDA inspectors with plant employees. The proposal would increase line speeds in poultry plants to 175 chickens per minute […]