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Sentient Media Mapped Every Factory Farm in Iowa and We’re Releasing the Data for Free
Sentient Media released the tool alongside a survey to address a gap in public awareness about Iowa’s factory farming industry.
Sentient News•7 min read
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News
Trump Wants to Further Destroy the Clean Water Act
The new, updated proposal is even worse for wetlands than the last one.
Policy•5 min read
News
Marine Heatwaves and El Niño Are Disrupting Fisheries
Warming waters alter where fish and shellfish live, push them beyond what they can tolerate and increase risk of disease.
Climate•6 min read
News
The Migrant Farmworkers Risking Their Lives for Illegal Wages
Farmworkers on H-2A visas won a rare victory in federal court. But they are still being paid the wages that were just ruled illegal.
Policy•10 min read
News
Trump’s Beef Import Plan Could Bring Down Prices — and Drive Up Emissions
Planetary emissions are already in a dangerous phase, scientists warn.
Climate•4 min read
News
Deforestation Is on the Ballot in Brazil’s Presidential Election
Are four years of pro-environment policies about to come to an end?
Climate•8 min read
News
Farmed Salmon May Not Be as Nutritious as It Once Was, New Research Suggests
The reason? A shift in the fish’s diet, with significant downstream impacts on the environment and climate.
Health•5 min read
News
Introducing the Food and Farming Storytelling Fund, a New Fund for One of America’s Most Underreported Beats
A $360,000 fund from Sentient Media will invest in storytellers tackling factory farming.
Sentient News•2 min read
News
McDonald’s, Subway and Taco Bell Fail to Meet Antibiotic Reduction Commitments
The fast food giants are silent on whether they’re still pursuing targets set a decade ago.
Health•5 min read
News
European Politicians With Financial Interests in Agriculture Are Three Times More Likely to Vote Down Environmental Protections
When EU parliament members have financial ties to agriculture, environmental laws may take a hit, according to a new study.
Meat Lobby•5 min read
News
Animal-Based Foods Provide 15% of Calories but Cause the Majority of Biodiversity Damage From Farmland
Animal agriculture drives 71% of biodiversity damage from food production on farmland.
Climate•5 min read
News
Teens and Young Adults, Especially Educated Men, Tend to Have Higher Food Emissions
Slashing food-related emissions needs varied strategies for different ages and countries, two new studies find.
Climate•6 min read
News
A Minnesota Mega-Dairy’s Rapid Expansion Is Prompting Lawsuits Over its Climate and Water Impacts
Riverview LLP’s operations are meeting with pushback across Minnesota, North and South Dakota.
Climate•10 min read
News
Congress Promised Non-Dairy Milk for Schools. Where Is It?
A new law should expand milk options, but USDA rules left out the non-dairy milk provisions.
Policy•9 min read
News
How Factory Farms Supercharge Harmful Bacteria
The rapid growth of chickens — now, 31 billion globally — has sped up pathogen evolution, boosting persistence, antibiotic resistance and spillover to humans.
Health•3 min read
News
Michigan Regulators Approve Mega-Dairy in Pollution Hotspot
Michigan is giving a green light to a new industrial dairy operation that would add millions of gallons of animal waste to a region where water quality is already suffering.
Climate•5 min read
News
Amazon Data Center Slated for NC Town With Devastating Industrial History
In the North Carolina Sandhills, a sprawling data center project threatens to repeat the past, stirring memories of a chicken processing plant disaster.
Climate•8 min read
News
The World Bank Is Pouring Billions of Dollars into Large-scale Factory Farms
A new report finds development banks’ $13 billion investment in industrial animal agriculture clashes with their climate goals.
Food•5 min read
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Why Some Plant-Based Foods Have a Longer Ingredient List
Additives can give plant-based foods the taste, texture and mouthfeel of hamburgers, ice cream or other meat and dairy products.
Health•4 min read
News
Roundup’s Surprising Connection to Industrial Meat
The one thing glyphosate has in common with the screwworm outbreak, deforestation, climate change and bird flu.
Legal Action•7 min read
News
Part of ‘the Family’: When the Beef Industry Mentors Climate Scientists
A growing body of research scrutinizes how the meat industry can shape scientific research.
Food•7 min read
News
Veterinarians Press Congress to Preserve State Animal Welfare Laws
Signed by more than 700 vets, the letter was sent Monday to Senate and House leaders and Agricultural Committee chairs in both chambers.
Policy•3 min read
News
U.S. Is Backing Anaerobic Digesters. Scientists and Advocates Say Stronger Guardrails Are Needed.
There are no federal methane standards for manure digesters, leaving operators to rely on voluntary guidance.
Climate•6 min read
News
Heat Stress Hits Dairy Quality as Well as Quantity, Study Finds
Extreme heat has changed what it takes to produce a glass of milk.
Climate•8 min read
News
What ICE Arrests Looked Like in Farm Counties Last Year
While the numbers are small compared to the overall arrests, data obtained by the Deportation Data Project show farm counties saw an increase in ICE arrests last year as the…
Policy•4 min read
News
Is the EU About To Give the Meat Industry a Pass on Methane Emissions?
Calling it “biogenic methane” is a red flag for climate scientists.
Climate•10 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
News
U.S. and Mexico Unveil A New Weapon To Fight Screwworm, the Parasite Threatening Cattle Herds
New facility in southern Mexico will crank out 100 million sterile screwworms a week.
Health•5 min read
News
Who’s To Blame for Screwworm’s Return to the U.S.?
Democrats and Republicans are pointing fingers at each other, but the truth is murkier.
Policy•8 min read
News
Senate Ag Committee Farm Bill Spares Animal Welfare Law, for Now
The controversial Save Our Bacon Act has been omitted from the text of the latest Farm Bill proposal.
Factory Farms•6 min read
News
Trump Has Decimated a Vital Ocean Monitoring Program. What Does It Mean for Fisheries?
Removing the instruments could leave gaps in tracking ocean acidification, climate change and oxygen levels — changes that increasingly affect fisheries.
Climate•8 min read
News
Over 1,700 Cargill Meatpacking Workers Locked Out After Demanding Bathroom Breaks
The largest privately held company in the United States is refusing to concede to workers’ demands for more dignified workplace conditions, including protected bathroom breaks.
Food•9 min read
News
This Key Tool Could Protect Whales and Dolphins Worldwide. Advocates Want the U.S. to Use it.
Stronger enforcement of U.S. import law could spare marine mammals from deadly fishing gear around the world, advocates say.
Fisheries & Aquaculture•5 min read
News
The Flesh-Eating Pest That Once Cost Ranchers Millions Is Back
New World screwworm’s long-dreaded arrival in the U.S. jeopardizes a 40-year-old agricultural victory.
Health•5 min read
News
An Iowa Town Spent $800,000 on a New Well. It Pumps Undrinkable Water.
After shuttering two wells for recurring nitrate contamination, the riverside community of Princeton may face yet another costly fix.
Health•9 min read
News
Breeding Climate-Friendly Livestock May Come at the Expense of Farm Animal Welfare
A new report argues that focusing solely on climate emissions can result in breeding programs that increase animal suffering.
Climate•5 min read
News
The Meat Industry Is Funding Studies That Claim Meat Is Good For You
A whopping 75% of studies with meat industry funding reported “favorable” nutritional results associated with eating meat.
Food•5 min read
News
USDA Extends Pause on Loans for Controversial Digesters That Turn Manure Into Biogas
Anaerobic digester loans showed “significant delinquency rates,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture said, while environmental groups see the technology driving an expansion of large-scale animal farming operations.
Climate•6 min read
News
Fishing in the Deep Ocean’s Data-Blind Spot
Twilight zone fish help regulate carbon and are critical to the food web. Yet they are being caught in massive amounts, and scientists say the impact is unknown.
Climate•5 min read
News
China’s Shark Finning Could Lead to U.S. Seafood Sanctions
A petition to the U.S. government highlights China’s illegal shark fin trade and calls for sanctions on Chinese seafood imports.
Fisheries & Aquaculture•7 min read
News
EU Pledges to Block Animal-Sourced Food Imports From Brazil Over Antibiotic Use, But the Move May Have Little Actual Effect
The political back-and-forth resurfaces industrial animal agriculture’s contribution to the public health threat of antimicrobial resistance.
Farms•5 min read
News
Why Is Drug-Resistant Salmonella Breaking Out in Backyard Chicken Flocks so Far Apart?
The outbreak has hit 31 states, with 184 infections and one death. About 30% of cases have been in children under 5.
Health•3 min read
News
Iowa Senate Approves Bill Making it Harder to Sue Factory Farms For Polluting
If passed by the governor, the bill would protect farms from lawsuits surrounding their greenhouse gas emissions.
Factory Farms•4 min read
News
Organic Dairies Say Federal Pricing System Costs Them Millions
A series of lawsuits argues an obsolete profit-sharing system is subsidizing industrial dairy farms.
Factory Farms•5 min read
News
With Fertilizer Pollution on the Rise, Iowa Will Invest $100 Million in Water Treatment
After years of worsening water quality, the move marks Gov. Kim Reynolds’ first official action to tackle harmful agricultural nutrients in state waterways. Critics say it’s “too little too late.”
Climate•4 min read
News
Almost 20 Percent of Americans Are Drinking Nitrate Contaminated Water
A new analysis links manure and the overapplication of fertilizer from agriculture to contaminated water, and suggests the EPA’s allowed limits are too high to prevent nitrate-related cancer, thyroid disease…
Health•4 min read
News
U.S. Moves Closer to Blocking Illegal Seafood Imports
The FISH Act would allow the government to blacklist and seize ships involved in illegal fishing or forced labor.
Fisheries & Aquaculture•6 min read
News
Watchdog Group Alleges Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins Violated Ethics Rules
The Campaign Legal Center said in a report released Thursday that Brooke Rollins remained close with former employers, which could violate the ethics agreement she signed. The USDA called the…
Policy•6 min read
News
Most Agree Fungi-Based Food Is A Greener, Meat-Like Protein
Survey says majority agree fungi-based foods are sustainable meat alternatives with a protein profile that’s similar to meat, despite knowledge gaps around the reasons why.
Research•5 min read
News
Is Trump’s New ‘Office of Seafood’ a Shell Game?
The new USDA division wants to grow the seafood industry, but critics worry dismantling regulations will achieve the opposite.
Policy•5 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.