Farm Forward

Last month, the House passed a Farm Bill containing a provision alarming to all who care about animal welfare or states' rights. The so-called "Save Our Bacon Act” would strip states of the right to set their own animal welfare standards and could override more than 600 state laws across the country covering animal welfare, food safety, and disease control.

If enough constituents speak up, the Save Our Bacon provision can be stripped from the bill before it ever reaches the Senate floor. Sign the petition now:

Tell Your Senators: Vote Against Any Farm Bill With the Save Our Bacon Act! The “Save Our Bacon Act” sounds harmless—but it’s a federal preemption clause quietly tucked into the House Farm Bill that would gut more than 600 state laws co...

The federal government has extended its pause on loans for manure digesters, the method of converting animal manure from large-scale feeding operations into biogas. USDA cited high delinquency rates and financial losses.

But the deeper question is are digesters actually a climate solution or an expensive subsidy that's making factory farming worse?

The industry says digesters can cut manure methane emissions by up to 80%. California has spent nearly $300 million promoting them and points to real emissions reductions. However, critics aren't buying it.

Andrew deCoriolis, executive director of Farm Forward, told Inside Climate News that the evidence increasingly shows digesters are driving factory farm expansion, not reining it in and that in most cases, the gas itself isn't economically viable without public subsidies and carbon credits backing it up.

A new Stanford study backs this up, finding digester incentives are spurring large farms to get even bigger. In Iowa, after a law lifted animal caps at farms with digesters, animal numbers at permitted sites jumped 23%.

And the communities living nearest to these operations (often communities of color) report ammonia pollution, water contamination, and serious health effects. One North Carolina digester breached in 2022, dumping 10,000 gallons of waste into a swamp. The company later went into foreclosure.

Read more here:

USDA Extends Pause on Loans for Controversial Digesters That Turn Manure Into Biogas - Inside Climate News 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.

Wild Fork Foods markets itself as a craft butcher with "hand-selected" meats from "lush grasslands."

What they leave out is being owned by JBS, the world's largest meatpacker, tied to Amazon deforestation, child labor violations, bribery of government officials, price-fixing, and a 3,800-worker just strike this year.

JBS wants the retail margin that grocery stores normally capture and wrapping industrial meat in small-batch aesthetics is how they get it. We call it humanewashing.

"The industrial food system is built on obfuscation," says one small farmer who wrote about it. "It's built on creating an illusion of choice."

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.

According to a new federal report, food safety complaints about meat, poultry, and egg products jumped nearly 40% last year.

This comes after USDA cut 18% of its workforce in the first half of last year, with the Food Safety and Inspection Service (the agency responsible for placing inspectors in slaughterhouses and processing plants) lost about 9% of its staff. That's about 775 employees the agency isn't expected to get back.

During that same period, the agency oversaw a recall of 58 million pounds of corn dogs, investigated un-inspected beef tallow products, and responded to 7 multi-state foodborne illness outbreaks, four linked to Listeria that resulted in about 250 illnesses and 140 hospitalizations.

The administration also dissolved two key food safety advisory committees and shelved years-in-development salmonella standards for raw poultry that would have kept the most dangerous strains off store shelves.

Cutting the people who kept our food safe has consequences. This is what happens when food safety becomes a budget line.

Read more here:

After USDA Cuts, Complaints Over Food Safety Spike Complaints filed about the safety of meat, poultry and eggs rose by nearly 40% last year.

A new CDC case report has confirmed what scientists suspected: H5N1 bird flu can spread from cats to humans.

In 2024, 19 pet cats in LA contracted H5N1, traced back to raw meat and raw pet food. Investigators followed up with 139 people who'd been exposed to the infected cats and found one veterinary professional had antibodies for the virus, meaning their immune system had already fought it off.

What does all this tell us? For now, the risk to the average pet owner appears low, but it's a reminder to stay cautious.

Read more:

For The First Time, H5N1 Bird Flu Has Been Documented Jumping From Pet Cat To Human Experts blamed the cat's raw meat and milk diet for the infection.

Big win for transparency! Alec's ice cream just dropped sustainability & welfare marketing after we put pressure on them. We uncovered abuse and deception by their supplier Alexandre dairy and Alec's now has to admit their marketing was deceptive https://farmforward.com/news/when-transparency-wins/

Earlier this month, the company announced changes to their pints after supply and pricing issues sourcing strictly organic, regenerative-certified dairy This means Alec’s pints will no longer be USDA Organic certified, but pint prices will be reduced at checkout Alexandre Family Farms commented that it wasn’t a supply issue and expressed disappointment Customers are worried about future sourcing transparency now that the dairy is no longer certified

The House just passed a Farm Bill containing the so-called "Save Our Bacon Act," a provision that would strip states of the right to set their own animal welfare standards and override more than 600 state agricultural laws across the country.

At stake are California's Prop 12 and Massachusetts' Question 3, which guarantee farm animals basic space to move. Farmers who invested in compliance with these laws could see their investments wiped out overnight.

As our executive director, Andrew deCoriolis, put it: "It is extremely disappointing to see this get past the Republican House given the major implications for states' rights. I think this shows the power of the pork lobby."

The battle now heads to the Senate. Stay tuned for updates and contact your senator to let them know where you stand.

Controversial Farm Bill measure targeting state animal laws heads to Senate showdown Animal welfare advocates are preparing for a fight in the US Senate where the new Farm Bill will be taken up in the next couple months, bringing with it a contentious provision that would undo state measures to protect livestock.

The House just passed a Farm Bill that includes the so-called “Save Our Bacon Act,” a dangerous attempt to undo hard-won state protections for farmed animals.

Despite the name, this bill has nothing to do with helping family farmers or food security. It would override voter-approved laws banning some of the cruelest factory farming practices, including gestation crates for pigs, battery cages for hens, and veal crates for calves.

The bill heads to the Senate next, where there's still time to stop this rollback of progress. Tell your lawmakers to oppose these cruel bills now:

USA: Oppose New Attack on Animal-Protection Laws The Food Security and Farm Protection Act is a dangerous bill that was just introduced in the U.S. Senate. Despite its new name, this bill is identical to the dangerous Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act from last Congress. Please urge your federal lawmakers to oppose this bill.