Farm Forward

Earlier this year, we found Costco's own chicken plant routinely fails salmonella tests, with more than 1 in 10 whole birds and 1 in 6 chicken breast packages testing positive for contamination.

Now a new undercover investigation shows the same pattern playing out with one of their organic suppliers. They found chickens were denied outdoor access despite "organic" certification, sick birds were bludgeoned with pipes and rakes, ammonia levels were at 4 times the legal limit, and more.

The label on the package doesn't change what's happening inside the barn. This is humanewashing, plain and simple.

Costco’s organic chicken isn’t what it seems A disturbing new investigation reveals how easy it is for farms to subvert organic rules — and hide animal cruelty.

Campylobacter is the world's top bacterial cause of diarrhea, and most of it comes from raw chicken. Scientists analyzed nearly 2,800 bacterial genomes spanning 30 countries and found a 100x increase in campylobacter strains jumping between chickens and wild birds since 1900, with the sharpest rise tracking the explosion of industrial poultry production.

Now researchers are watching it pick up antimicrobial resistance genes inside the packed, antibiotic-heavy sheds where today's chickens live and die all within in five weeks. As lead researcher Sam Sheppard put it, cramming that many animals together turns them into "a cauldron of bacterial evolution."

Industrial chicken farming accelerating spread of diarrhoea bacteria, study finds Intensive nature of modern chicken farming creates ideal conditions for campylobacter, allowing bacteria to evolve

Consumers pay a premium price for Whole Foods' 365 brand chicken. But it turns out it's actually Perdue, the same chicken you can buy at Walmart for a fraction of the price.

Our investigation traced the USDA establishment numbers on the package straight to Perdue processing plants. Same fast-growing genetics linked to chronic lameness and heart failure, same food safety record, same meat quality defects. The only difference is the price tag: up to 70% more than the identical bird sold elsewhere.

Read our full investigation here:

Whole Foods is Charging Premium Prices for Sh*tty Walmart Chicken | Farm Forward Pigs being transported to slaughter. Photo by Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals

California pays dairy farmers big money to capture methane from manure lagoons and turn it into fuel. This program lets petroleum companies buy credits from dairies instead of cutting their own emissions, based on the idea that methane is roughly 25 times more powerful than CO2. That's true in the short term. But methane breaks down within a couple decades, while the CO2 released by burning that captured gas keeps warming the planet for centuries.

Ultimately, the state is trading a short-term problem for a permanent one and calling it progress.

Why California’s carbon manure math doesn’t add up Let's mooooo-ve on from climate shell games

The cyclospora outbreak you've been hearing about? Unsurprisingly, it can be tied to the Trump administration cutting funding to state and local health departments and program dedicated to coordinating information about foodborne illnesses.

Michigan health officials identify ‘potential source’ of parasite outbreak Authorities said inquiry into cyclosporiasis outbreak was continuing but early results pointed to salad greens and lettuce

A far-right commentator called it demonic, a Fox News host called it abusive, and a liberal New York Times columnist called it torture.

What are all of these voices across the political spectrum agreeing on? Gestation crates: crates so small that pregnant pigs can't even turn around.

The vast majority of Americans oppose caging pigs but the pork industry keeps pushing this bill. If you haven't yet, tell your senators to keep the Save Our Bacon Act out of the Farm Bill.

The unlikely cause bringing liberals and conservatives together It turns out no one likes seeing pigs locked in tiny cages.

Here's an in-depth article about the so-called "Save Our Bacon" Act. Well worth the read.

The Meat Industry’s Tireless Effort to Keep Live Pigs in Coffins - The American Prospect The Save Our Bacon Act, which would override hundreds of state food safety laws, has triggered bipartisan revulsion. But the pork industry wants it so they can keep confining pigs.

Have you heard of the New World screwworm yet? It's a parasitic fly that eats the living flesh of animals from the inside out. It's now spreading from the first case seen in Texas to other states.

We blame the current situation on the federal government cutting USDA staff. Until last year, the U.S. Agency for International Development monitored and worked to contain the screwworm's spread north from Central America. That program ended when the agency was dismantled.

How Can the New World Screwworm Be Contained? Education, and an End to Illegal Trafficking - The Food Institute New World screwworm threats continue to tighten livestock supplies, as sterile fly shortages and weakened federal biosecurity strain U.S. ag.

According the EPA, the vast majority of people affected by pollution from meatpacking are low-income communities of color.

Meatpacking plants mostly pollute low-income communities of color, analysis shows EPA data shows meatpacking plants disproportionately pollute low-income, communities of color. Postville, Iowa, has long dealt with the fallout.