Fact Check
How Big Meat Worked to Rebrand in 2024 — Using Disinformation
A look back at the year’s manipulative messaging.
Food•8 min read
Industry
Explainer
Turkey Lifespan: How Long Do Turkeys Live Before Slaughter?
Turkeys can live over a decade in the wild. But on farms, they’re slaughtered as young as 12 weeks old.
Food•5 min read
Explainer
Why Dairy Is Hiding in So Many Foods, Explained
The U.S. government has a lot to do with it.
Food•11 min read
Explainer
These Food Labels and Symbols Don’t Mean What You Think
Symbols like ‘recyclable’ and ‘compostable’ aren’t as reliable as you’d expect.
Food•9 min read
Reported
Factory Farms Make Bad Neighbors. Meet the People Who Are Fighting Back
Industrial farming operations stuffed with thousands of hogs, cows, or chickens seriously harm our health and environment. All across the country, communities are pushing back.
Food•26 min read
Explainer
Current U.S. Dietary Guidelines Ignore Climate, and That’s a Problem
Why the U.S. is behind when it comes to connecting environmental and personal health.
Food•8 min read
Explainer
How Many Animals Are Killed for Food Every Day?
An astronomical number to comprehend, broken down.
Food•7 min read
Investigation
California’s Factory Farms Are Perilously Close to Your Produce, New Report Finds
More than 90 percent of the polluting facilities are located less than a mile from water used to irrigate fruits and vegetables.
Food•4 min read
Solutions
Chipotle’s Founder Is Betting on Plant-Forward Food
The new fast-casual restaurant is powered by robots and a mostly meatless menu.
Food•2 min read
Explainer
Reproductive Exploitation of Male Livestock Is an Overlooked Cornerstone of Factory Farming
The invasive practice of electroejaculation, revealed.
Food•6 min read
Explainer
How Slaughterhouses Work: The Harsh Reality of Meat Production
A brief primer on the harsh conditions animals and workers endure.
Food•8 min read
Analysis
Impossible’s New Ad Campaign Doubles Down on Dudes
The plant-based leader hopes to boost sales by tapping into the American tradition of measuring masculinity with meat.
Food•6 min read
Explainer
Is Sustainable Palm Oil Ethical – or Just Greenwashing?
Unfortunately, the answer isn’t simple.
Food•7 min read
Reported
How California’s Prop 12 Could Kickstart a Lagging Global Pork Market
British, Irish and Canadian hog farms are looking to get ‘Prop 12 certified’ to sell pork to the golden state.
Food•5 min read
Explainer
How Factory Farming Exploits Female Reproductive Systems, Explained
How the meat and dairy industries rely on the labor and suffering of mothers.
Food•9 min read
Investigation
Can You Trust a ‘Certified Humane’ Pet Food Brand?
We investigated the animal welfare claims on Open Farm’s pet food labels and found they don’t live up to the hype.
Food•6 min read
Reported
In South Dakota, a Buffalo Herd Thrives in Cattle Country
Land grant universities whose research supports the beef industry are funded in part by land stolen from Indigenous tribes.
Food•8 min read
Explainer
6 Reasons Why Eggs Are So Expensive Right Now
Wondering why egg prices are skyrocketing? A mix of reasons — avian flu, inflation and shifting demand are all partly to blame.
Food•6 min read
Explainer
The Number of U.S. Poultry Farms Is Rising — Which Is Bad News for Animals and the Environment
As America’s appetite for chicken increases, so too do the negative effects of poultry farms.
Food•7 min read
Reported
Inside the Pork Industry’s Attempts to Charm and Influence Academia
Documents reveal a proposal to train PhDs on how to boost public trust in pork.
Food•5 min read
Explainer
Conditions for Chickens in Battery Cages Are More Sadistic Than Most People Realize
You probably knew chickens in battery cages are crammed in tight — but did you know about the neverending light and reproductive control?
Food•11 min read
Explainer
Why Coconut Milk Isn’t the Most Ethical Plant-Based Milk
The plant-based milk might be more environmentally friendly than dairy — but that doesn’t make it automatically ethical.
Food•8 min read
Explainer
The Number of Chickens in the World Means They Outnumber Humans 3.5 to 1
Why eating chicken is not necessarily more ethical than eating beef.
Food•2 min read
Reported
Chipotle Claims Better Animal Welfare Standards, but a New Investigation Suggests Otherwise
Undercover footage shows the fast food chain violating its own pledge to only slaughter animals who have been stunned.
Food•4 min read
Explainer
The Top Pork Producer in the U.S. Is Owned by China, but Harming Local Communities
Here’s what you need to know about the pork industry in the United States.
Food•7 min read
Reported
Red Sea Conflict Has Left 16,000 Farm Animals Stranded. Their Future Remains Uncertain.
Hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep could be at risk from ongoing hostilities in the Red Sea region.
Food•7 min read
Explainer
If Factory Farming Ended, What Would Happen to All the Animals?
It might be a faraway scenario — but it’s one worth examining.
Food•10 min read
Analysis
What Tyson Foods’ Terrible Year Means for the Future of Big Chicken
Layoffs and a declining stock price may signal trouble for the U.S.'s largest poultry producer
Food•2 min read
Analysis
Why Cedar the Goat Had To Be Killed
When a 9-year-old tried to pull her goat from auction, Shasta County fair officials insisted the animal be killed to teach her a lesson about meat.
Food•7 min read
Reported
Meat Industry Lobbyists Exposed for Trying to Derail Animal Welfare Legislation
These tactics are just the latest in a long line of campaigns to delay food system change.
Food•4 min read
Reported
The Real Reason There Are So Many Open Farm Days Might Surprise You
Open farm days are curated to show the public only what the meat industry wants you to see.
Food•8 min read
Explainer
The Rise of Industrial Agriculture, Explained
Everything you ever wanted to know about intensive agriculture, and the efforts to make it more sustainable.
Food•13 min read
Reported
Shake Shack and The Cheesecake Factory Fall Behind on Cage-Free Egg Commitments
A new report tracks progress among global brands pledging to source cage-free eggs.
Food•5 min read
Reported
What the History of Margarine Can Teach Us About Current Plant-Based Battles
The dairy industry has been fighting plant-based alternatives for a long time — but historically, it hasn’t exactly worked.
Food•10 min read
Reported
Smithfield Foods Is Owned by China, but Pollution and Price-Fixing Is the Real Problem
Rumors and conspiracy theories about Chinese ownership of a major U.S. pork producer abound, but concerns might be misplaced.
Food•4 min read
Reported
African Swine Fever Would Spread Rapidly Through U.S. Pork Industry, Study Finds
An outbreak is killing pigs around the world, and would likely spread quickly in the United States.
Food•7 min read
Explainer
What Sheep Farming Really Means For Animals and the Environment
Like many other forms of agriculture, sheep farming has become increasingly industrialized. Here’s what you need to know.
Food•10 min read
Reported
The Blood of Pregnant Mares Fuels Factory Farming – Literally
Female horses are drained of blood to provide a hormone used in pork production worldwide.
Food•6 min read
Explainer
Are Wagyu Cows Raised More Humanely Than Other Cows?
Wagyu beef is one of the most expensive — and consistently mislabeled — foods on the market. In this explainer, we look into what the "wagyu" label means for the cows.
Food•5 min read
Reported
What the EATS Act Is, and Why It Matters for Animals
A coalition of lawmakers are backing the EATS Act in hopes of gutting the Supreme Court's decision upholding the welfare provisions of California's Prop 12.
Food•6 min read
Reported
What the 2023 Farm Bill Could Change for Animals and Farmers
The 2023 Farm Bill offers lawmakers an opportunity to transform the food system but will they take it?
Food•10 min read
Reported
The Pork Industry Is Targeting People of Color – While Still Polluting Their Water
Amid the World Pork Expo, the industry reframes "sustainability" and targets the very communities it pollutes.
Food•5 min read
Reported
A Brief History of Milk Ads Reveals Big Dairy Has Always Struggled
The Aubrey Plaza campaign is just the latest in a long history of artists, celebrities and athletes hired to promote the dairy industry.
Food•9 min read
Reported
Tyson Foods Investigation Exposes Myth of Free-Range Chicken
An undercover investigator found water shortages and "free-range" chickens that never see the outside.
Food•6 min read
Explainer
What Does the USDA Do?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has many responsibilities, including oversight of the food system and rural development.
Food•7 min read
Reported
Big Chicken Is Going After Climavores
Is eating chicken more sustainable than beef? The industry is misleading consumers with its "climate-friendly" marketing.
Food•6 min read
Explainer
What Are Gestation Crates?
Gestation crates are one of the most controversial aspects of pork production. But what are they, and why does the industry say they're necessary?
Food•7 min read
Reported
The Dublin Declaration Is Riddled with Animal Industry Bias
The 1000 scientists who signed the declaration are far from impartial.
Food•6 min read
Explainer
Is It Legal to Kill Baby Chickens?
The egg industry continues to cull billions of male chicks worldwide each year — despite legal and scientific progress to curb the practice.
Food•8 min read
Explainer
How Does a Cattle Feedlot Work?
What is a feedlot? These large fenced-off areas of land house thousands of cattle as they gain weight before slaughter. But how do they work?
Food•7 min read
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