Investigation

Investigation

When Your “Local” Meat Market is Actually Owned by JBS

Wild Fork Foods, owned by the largest meatpacker in the world, is the latest manifestation of industry consolidation.

Food•9 min read

Investigation

Trump Made Meatpacking Investigation a Campaign Promise but Antitrust Staff Has Been Gutted

Four companies own 85% of US beef production.

Policy•12 min read

Investigation

North Carolina Created Complaint Systems for Its Factory Farms. They Don’t Work Very Well.

The state has only 14 inspectors for thousands of hog, poultry and cattle farms known as concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs.

Climate•11 min read

Investigation

‘You Feel Like You’re Marked’: Salvadoran Workers at Tyson Foods Face Risks Due to Work Permit Delays

Longtime poultry plant workers are left uncertain and fearing job loss amid Tyson Foods’ confusion over immigrant Temporary Protected Status — despite their legal right to work.

Policy•9 min read

Investigation

Meat Processing Plant Complaint Highlights Supply Chain Disruptions — And How the Meat Industry Isn’t Prepared

Supply chain disruptions may be on the rise throughout the industry for a host of reasons, including weather, labor issues and cybersecurity threats.

Food•4 min read

Investigation

California Pays Farms to Make Biogas from Hog Waste in North Carolina, Where Locals Say It’s Fueling Pollution

“Some of this is happening under the radar.”

Climate•17 min read

Investigation

California’s Avian Flu Safety Rules Are Strong — Their Enforcement Isn’t

As H5N1 infects over 70% of the state’s dairy herds, exposed farmworkers are left without PPE or mitigation training in their native language. And some aren’t informed of an outbreak…

Food•13 min read

Investigation

What Does a Small Town Do When the Water Is Undrinkable?

Nitrate pollution is straining small water facilities in Iowa, even when they have advanced filtration systems.

Climate•8 min read

Investigation

Industry Groups Worked to Expand Wisconsin Bill Meant for Small Dairies

Documents reveal dairy and farm industry groups pushed for changes that would allow large industrial farms to access loans meant for small farm operations.

Factory Farms•7 min read

Investigation

At Nebraska Plant, ADM Allowed Dangerous Dust to Build Up Beyond Safe Levels, Recordings Show

'Could have been a hell of a lot worse,’ a federal safety inspector noted to plant managers.

Food•9 min read

Investigation

Trump’s Deportations are Causing Farm Labor Issues. He Hasn’t Presented a Viable Long-term Solution.

Trump has cast the H-2A visa program as a quick help for farmers. At the same time, the program has been suspended during the government shutdown.

Farms•12 min read

Investigation

Police Bodycams Reveal Pattern of Deference to Meat Industry

State troopers cited concerns about animal rights activists as justification for blocking journalists from livestock crash sites.

Legal Action•12 min read

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

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 Sulfur 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