Investigation

Investigation

More Data From Farms Could Help Scientists Better Track Avian Flu, but Privacy Concerns Stand in the Way

Government agencies have refused to disclose farm locations, precise outbreak dates and other metadata associated with poultry and cattle that test positive for avian flu.

Research•12 min read

Investigation

Methane, Money & Metrics: Inside Big Ag’s Plan to Hide Its Climate Impact in South America

The livestock industry is pushing to change how its methane emissions are measured in Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil, with help from researcher Frank Mitloehner.

Meat Lobby•24 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

Investigation

What Happened to America’s Meat Recalls?

Recalls of meat, poultry and egg products have gradually begun to rebound. But the numbers haven’t fully recovered, raising questions about what’s changed and why.

Health•3 min read

Investigation

Oklahoma’s Loophole: How Tyson’s Water Use Goes Unchecked

While Tyson says its growers obtain water from ‘lawfully acquired sources,’ the state’s permitting system allows poultry operations to pump water without permits.

Food•15 min read

Investigation

‘I Know I Have a Dust Problem’: ADM Repeatedly Failed to Prevent Potentially Deadly Grain Explosions

How one of the world’s largest animal feed producers, Archer Daniels Midland, failed to implement crucial safety measures — to grave consequences.

Health•21 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

Investigation

Foreign-Owned Farmland Has Increased in Nearly Every State in the Past Decade

States with major crop, solar, wind and livestock industries have seen dramatic increases in the past decade.

Food•2 min read

Investigation

As Egg Prices Soar, Amazon and Top Investors Profit

Investors in major egg companies saw their stocks dramatically rise in value as consumers suffered from soaring egg prices.

Food•6 min read

Investigation

Underage Workers, Millions of Dollars and Trucks Full of Dead Chickens — Inside the Business of Killing in Response to Bird Flu

The federal government has a single contractor to assist with killing infected flocks, leading to delays and the use of controversial culling methods.

Food•17 min read

Investigation

EPA Weighs N.C. Environmental Harms From Sewage Sludge Used as Fertilizer

“Off spec” liquid from Winston Weaver fertilizer fire that was applied on a nearby farm field contained toxic PFAS.

Climate•11 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

Investigation

Meatpacking Companies Are Using This Maneuver to Avoid Addressing Workplace Safety Violations

Businesses, including meatpacking plants, are not obligated to fix safety problems pointed out by OSHA while the commission is reviewing appeals.

Food•10 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

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

Investigation

How U.S. Taxpayers Bailed Out the Poultry Industry, and Helped Entrench Avian Flu

The U.S. has failed to contain bird flu. The $1.46 billion industry bailout is one reason why.

Meat Lobby•9 min read

Investigation

New Senate Agriculture Committee Leadership Has Extensive Ties to Meat Industry

Arkansas Senator John Boozman has received tens of thousands of campaign donations from employees at Tyson Foods.

Policy•7 min read

Investigation

Few States Are Tracking Dairy Farm Worker Health Protections Amid Bird Flu Outbreak

States with confirmed dairy cattle bird flu cases have drastically different personal protective equipment responses.

Health•11 min read

Investigation

UN Green Climate Fund Investing in Factory Farming, Report Finds

Development banks are scaling factory farming in the places already worst hit by climate change.

Climate•6 min read

Investigation

Misinformation on Climate and Meat Pushed by Russian-Backed Influencers in U.S.

One right wing influencer pushes meat and misinformation.

Climate•4 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

Investigation

How Bacon for Breakfast Became an American Staple

Learning from the history of the meat industry’s PR influence.

Diet•6 min read

Investigation

Homesteading Is a Viral Trend, but ‘Butchery Gone Awry’ Is Its Dark Side

A growing number of backyard farmers confess they have no idea what they’re doing.

Farms•6 min read

Investigation

Inside the Billion-Dollar Feed Industry’s Ploy to Greenwash Emissions

A new law would allow the livestock industry to fast-track federal review of feed additives.

Climate•4 min read

Investigation

Breathing Wildfire Smoke as Babies Sickened These Monkeys for Decades

An early-life wildfire exposure sickened these monkeys for decades.

Climate•5 min read

Investigation

Prosciutto’s Secret Ingredient: Horse Blood

Inside the industry most consumers don’t realize they’re supporting.

Food•11 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

Investigation

On Organic Caviar Farms, Fish Still Suffer

A new investigation reveals fish cut open while still conscious.

Fisheries & Aquaculture•4 min read

Investigation

Farmed Bluefin Tuna Brands Claim to Be Sustainable. Here’s What Really Happens.

I hopped aboard a tuna tour to investigate what it takes to confine these majestic apex predators.

Fisheries & Aquaculture•10 min read

Investigation

Spy Cams Reveal Squalor and Suffering on Mega-Farm

Hidden footage captured at pork mega-farm Bickmarsh Hall reveals pigs living in filth and suffering from injuries.

Food•4 min read

Investigation

New: Undercover Footage Shows Lidl’s Cheap Chicken Makes Farmed Animals Pay the Price

A new video investigation documents Lidl's fast-growing chicken breeds suffering in factory farms.

Food•4 min read

Investigation

Hogwood Farm: A Modern Horror Story

After four years investigating one of Britain's largest and most contentious pig farms, the team at Viva! shows just how far the industry is willing to go to hide the…

Food•5 min read

Investigation

As Supreme Court Hears Prop 12 Arguments, a New Investigation Looks Into Gestation Crates

As the Supreme Court hears arguments in pork industry challenge to Proposition 12, a new investigation reveals cruelty of intensive animal confinement.

Food•4 min read

Investigation

Here’s What Happens Behind Closed Doors at an Intensive Goat Dairy

A new undercover investigation by Animal Justice Project shows how goats are treated on a large dairy farm.

Food•5 min read

Investigation

New Duck Farm Investigation Reveals Abuse, Gaps in Biosecurity Protocols

Viva!’s latest undercover investigation of a commercial duck egg facility reveals severe abuse and lapses in biosecurity protocols.

Food•6 min read

Investigation

Sentient Media Podcast: No One Wants to Work in a Slaughterhouse, with Undercover Investigator Pete Paxton

In this episode, Pete Paxton shares his experiences working in illegal slaughterhouses, the complex moral battles undercover investigators face, the corrupt world of puppy mills and more.

Podcast•47 min read

Investigation

Investigators Followed a Livestock Truck for 32 Hours. Here’s What They Found.

A new investigation from Animal Outlook documents what happens when animals are held in transport trucks for hours on end with no rest.

Food•5 min read

Investigation

America’s Food Safety System Failed to Stop a Salmonella Epidemic. It’s Still Making People Sick.

For years, a dangerous salmonella strain has sickened thousands and continues to spread through the chicken industry. The USDA knows about it. So do the companies. And yet, contaminated meat…

Farms•41 min read

Investigation

Major Animal Pharma Industry Group Forced to Remove UN Logo from ‘Misleading’ Briefing on Livestock Climate Impact

United Nations distances itself from “distortive” and “biased” animal pharma livestock briefing that used UN sustainable food summit logo.

Food•10 min read

Investigation

New Slaughterhouse Investigation Reveals Critical Lapse in Federal Law

Fish are one of the few farmed animals not protected by the Humane Slaughter Act. Producers are aware of this loophole and regularly exploit it, investigators say.

Factory Farms•6 min read

Investigation

The Jungle, Revisited

More than a century has passed since Upton Sinclair’s tell-all novel, The Jungle, sparked public outrage at the corruption of the meatpacking industry. Not much has changed.

Food•9 min read

Investigation

Exposing the Secretive World of Animal Exploitation with Pete Paxton

Over the past two decades, Pete Paxton has dedicated his life to exposing animal abuse wherever it hides, earning him a spot among the most accomplished undercover investigators of all…

Food•6 min read

Investigation

This Kansas Farm Is Making Headlines—for All the Wrong Reasons

Many of the farmed animals were found "in a severe state of neglect." The USDA, which has already given the farm $160,000, refused to comment on whether or not it…

Food•6 min read

Investigation

Fish Farming Giant Faces Animal Abuse Allegations

Atlantic Sapphire, one of the largest fish farming companies in the world, is under fire after 800,000 fish died at its Florida facility. The company could face criminal charges.

Fisheries & Aquaculture•5 min read

Investigation

New Investigation Exposes One of the Darkest Corners of the Dairy Industry

The dairy industry works hard to convince consumers that its milk is cruelty-free. But a new investigation into the trade of days-old dairy calves tells a different story.

Food•6 min read

Investigation

Fish Are the Forgotten Victims of Factory Farming

Fish receive fewer legal protections than almost any other animal and are confined with even less understanding of their individual needs.

Fisheries & Aquaculture•5 min read

Investigation

New Film Gives Us a Rare Glimpse of Animals in Transport

Join renowned photojournalist Jo-Anne McArthur as she climbs transport trucks in Turkey, documenting animals in their final moments on the way to slaughter.

Food•1 min read

Investigation

Imagine Living in a Cage Filled with Millions of Tiny Parasitic Sea Lice

A new investigation from Viva! brings us deep inside the lives of farmed fish, who suffer from overcrowding and pain on a daily basis.

Fisheries & Aquaculture•6 min read

Investigation

Pioneering Undercover Investigator Finally Emerges From Behind the Camera

As the pandemic forces Gem de Silva to take some time out, he reflects on 30 years of investigating factory farms and other industries exploiting animals.

Food•8 min read