News
Iowa’s Water Crisis Crashed the Midterms
As Democrats flipped state and federal seats, farm runoff and cancer concerns infiltrated nearly every race.
Elections•5 min read
John McCracken
John McCracken is an investigative reporter whose work examining the nation's consolidated meat industry, industrial agriculture and climate change has received awards and recognition from the Chicago Book Club, North American Agricultural Journalists, Wisconsin Newspaper Association, Iowa Newspaper Association and more. He has been invited to speak about his reporting at the Society for Environmental Journalists, NICAR and more.
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John McCracken's Posts
Investigation
Iowa’s Attorney General Is Taking Checks From the Industries She’s Supposed to Watch
Brenna Bird settled a national price-fixing suit against major egg companies including Versova. Versova’s president donated $40K to her campaign.
Elections•8 min read
Feature
How a Billion-Dollar Dairy Plant Could Worsen Iowa’s Water Pollution
In Boone, Iowa, a cottage cheese plant is meant to feed the protein craze, but some residents are worried about the manure.
Industry•9 min read
Feature
A Scientist Was Pushed Out for Studying Iowa’s Water. Now He’s Running To Regulate It.
How water, cancer and factory farming are fueling a grassroots political campaign in Iowa for Chris Jones.
Elections•15 min read
We Mapped All 11,000 Factory Farms in Iowa. Here Are Five Things We Learned.
Here’s what the data reveal about the country’s factory farm hotbed.
Inside Iowa•8 min read
How and Why Sentient Media Mapped Factory Farms in Iowa
Find out how much manure is in your backyard.
Inside Iowa•9 min read
News
USDA to Repeal Rules Protecting Chicken Farmers From Discrimination and Deceptive Business Practices
The department quietly reversed course on Biden-era rulings meant to enforce equal treatment and transparency on how meat companies pay farmers.
Meat Lobby•5 min read
Investigation
The Nation’s ‘Egg Mafia’ Made Billions. Their Fines Over Price Fixing Are a Drop in the Bucket.
Egg companies that received hundreds of millions of dollars in bird flu payments are ordered to settle for a fraction of the price.
Food•5 min read
Investigation
How Corporate Agriculture Is Funding Both Sides of the Iowa Governor’s Race
Executives in the ethanol, egg, and meat and dairy byproduct industries have spent millions of dollars on the ongoing race.
Elections•9 min read
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Sentient investigates and explains factory farms and their effect on climate, the environment, animals, health, politics and rural communities.
