Investigation
Kansas Greenlights Mega Feedlot in “Sensitive” Water Area
Despite community pushback over groundwater pollution and health risks, the 88,000-head feedlot will be one of the largest in the state.
Health•10 min read
Nina B. Elkadi
Nina B. Elkadi is an investigative reporter for Sentient. Her work explores corporate influence within the agricultural industry, the environmental impacts of factory farming, and how negligence impacts consumers and workers. Her work also appears in National Geographic, Inside Climate News, Civil Eats, High Country News, Ambrook Research, JSTOR Daily, Barn Raiser, and more. She splits her time between Washington D.C. and her hometown of Iowa City.
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Nina B. Elkadi's Posts
Feature
A Small Wisconsin Town Bet Big on a Biodigester. Now the Project Is Defaulting on Its Loans.
Pitched as a boon to small towns, the biodigester financed $41.5 Million via the town of Gillett, promising jobs and future tax revenue.
Climate•6 min read
News
Seaboard Triumph Was Awarded Millions in Government Subsidies to Create Industrial Jobs
A decade later, the pork plant became the subject of a scathing complaint to the EPA about working conditions.
Food•2 min read
Feature
In Rural Pennsylvania, a Free-Range Chicken Farm and Solar Project Is Not What It Seems
At a township hearing, a developer revealed the 350,000 chickens would be kept mostly separate from the solar panels and probably “don’t go outside much.”
Climate•8 min read
Feature
‘The Price of Milk’ Aims to Expose Big Dairy
The new docuseries digs into the dairy industry’s widespread influence in America.
Food•6 min read
Feature
Des Moines Banned Lawn Watering, but Polluted Tap Water Keeps Flowing: Inside Iowa’s Nitrate Problem
Amid rising cancer rates, citizens are demanding Governor Reynolds take more meaningful action.
Climate•9 min read
News
Hundreds of Iowa Meatpacking Employee Visas Revoked
200 JBS employees from four countries are losing their U.S. work authorization.
Food•2 min read
Investigation
At an Iowa Pork Plant, Piles of Dead Pigs and Wafting Sulphur Dioxide
When climate technology breaks down, the results can be deadly.
Climate•9 min read
Solutions
Iowa’s Clean Water Advocates Are Reclaiming the Past to Protect the Future
Through stories, memories and community engagement, a new grassroots effort is building public support for restoring the state’s polluted lakes.
Climate•6 min read
Solutions
How an Oregon Community Group Fought a Factory Farm and Won
“These operations are not farms. They’re factories.”
Local Organizing•9 min read
Southwest Wisconsin Dairy Operation Linked to Spill Affecting Eight Miles of Trout Waters
Heavy rain and 11,500 gallons of dairy cow manure per acre appear to have triggered the deadly spill.
Climate•4 min read
Investigation
Recent Graduates Were Told They Were Coming to the U.S. for Cultural Exchange. They Ended Up Trapped in a Factory Farm.
A lawsuit alleges that three Guatemalan citizens, who came to the U.S. on J-1 visas, worked dangerous jobs under false pretenses.
Legal Action•10 min read
News
In Iowa, Researchers Press for More Scrutiny of the Link Between Big Ag and Cancer Risk
The partnership aims to fill a research gap with statewide listening sessions and a review of the scientific literature.
Health•4 min read
Investigation
Manure Contributes to Toxic Byproducts in Drinking Water
A new report documents how manure and other contaminants find their way into treated water.
Health•4 min read
Investigation
Iowa Dairy Manure Spill Kills Over 100,000 Fish in 10-Mile Stretch of Dry Run Creek
State records reveal a faulty manure control structure noted in previous inspections, and “freshly dead fish with some stranded gasping for air, manure on top of ice, and dirty flowing…
Food•4 min read
News
As Trump Stands Firm on Tariffs, USDA Signals Possible Relief for Farmers
During a visit to Iowa, Secretary Rollins suggested that the administration would consider financial relief for farmers.
Policy•3 min read
Feature
The Beef Industry Knew Its Climate Impact as Early as 1989 — and Worked to Obfuscate the Science
Two new studies reveal decades of industry tactics to downplay beef’s role in climate.
Big Meat•8 min read
News
Trump’s Department of Justice Investigates the Price of Eggs
The agency has opened an investigation into high egg prices and corporate price-gouging.
Policy•3 min read
Feature
Importing Eggs Won’t Lower Prices, Experts Say
Importing eggs would need to happen at a dramatic scale to impact U.S. egg prices.
Policy•5 min read
News
Breaking: Congress Votes to Slash Rural Program Funding, Putting Clean Water At Risk
The latest continuing resolution to pass the Senate will greatly impact rural programs.
Policy•3 min read
Feature
What’s Driving Iowa’s Outlier Cancer Rate? It’s Complicated
The state cancer registry makes no mention of the millions of gallons of factory farm manure pumped into Iowa waterways.
Health•10 min read
News
Could Checkoff Programs Be Next on DOGE’s Chopping Block?
Critics of checkoffs — the marketing tool of agricultural commodities like pork and beef — are asking the Trump administration to make cuts.
Food•9 min read
Reported
MAHA Commission Poised to Extend RFK’s Reach. Food System Reformers Remain Wary.
For now, plenty of roadblocks to food system change still stand in the way.
Policy•6 min read
Reported
Iowa Slaughterhouse Routinely Pollutes Waterways With Excessive Waste, Advocacy Groups Allege
‘250,000 gallons of untreated beef processing waste’ flowed into the local water supply, the notice states.
Food•5 min read
Investigation
Meat Industry Group Asks Trump To Deregulate Meatpacking and Factory Farms
Amid a deregulatory blitz, trade group pushes for rollback on environmental regulations, worker protections and food safety.
Policy•6 min read
Reported
Tracking Bird Flu Is Largely Left to States. Under Trump, the Federal Government Might Step Even Further Back.
With human infections of avian flu present in the U.S., workers remain most vulnerable to the virus.
Health•6 min read
Investigation
Venison Donated to Food Banks May Contain Lead. The NRA Could Be Why.
“I am afraid that if we had tried to 'hide' what we had learned...then press found out, we would be butchered like a fat buck!”
Health•18 min read
Reported
81% of Meatpacking Workers at High Injury Risk, USDA Warns
Two new studies reinforce the fact that slaughterhouse jobs are among the most dangerous.
Food•3 min read
Reported
Illegal Manure Pollution in Water — and Cancer — on the Rise in Iowa
A new report maps manure spills in Iowa, where factory farms produce 109 billion pounds of manure per year.
Climate•3 min read
Explainer
Why the McDonald’s E. Coli Outbreak Still Comes Back to Meat
Onions are at the center of a nationwide outbreak — but the source comes back to beef.
Health•8 min read
Reported
Children Are at the Core of MAHA. Some Moms Are Ecstatic.
Mothers are rallying behind RFK Jr.’s promises to expose corporate influence over America’s food and health systems.
Elections•6 min read
Reported
Meet the Farmers Supporting Prop 12 Despite Pork Industry Pushback
Contrary to what ag industry groups say, these small farmers have embraced the new animal welfare law.
Meat Lobby•10 min read
Reported
13 Groups Sued EPA Demanding Stricter CAFO Regulation — the Court Struck Them Down
The Ninth Circuit backed EPA’s response to polluted water: 'study further' and form a subcommittee.
Legal Action•8 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.
