North Carolinians Want to Hold Companies and Regulators Accountable for Toxic Hog Waste
Hog farms in North Carolina produce 10 billion gallons of untreated, toxic waste each year—and much of it ends up in the state's waterways.
Farms
Though Wildfire Smoke Threatens Farmworkers' Health, Volunteers Are Being Blocked From Distributing Protective Masks
Amid hazardous air conditions in California, farm management is turning away volunteers attempting to hand out masks to farmworkers.
As Wildfire Smoke Fills the Air, Farmworkers Continue to Labor in the Fields
As fires clogged the air in Southern California, farmworkers continued to work, even as public-school students and others were told to stay home and indoors.
Hurricane Florence Has Already Flooded Pits of Toxic Waste in North Carolina
State agencies and environmental groups have recorded several breached or overflowing hog-waste pits and coal ash ponds—and the floodwaters are still rising.
North Carolina's Hog Waste Problem Has a Long History. Why Wasn't It Solved in Time for Hurricane Florence?
The hog industry is changing, but, as Hurricane Florence hits, history may be doomed to repeat itself.
Breaking Down the Complex Case of Antibiotic Use in Animal Agriculture
Due to a mix of factors around the issue there is a risk we may be moving toward a non-ideal situation for animals and humans alike.
The USDA Predicts a 12-Year Low in Farm Profits
The 2018 net farm income is predicted to reach $59.5 billion, a $4.3 billion decrease from 2017.
Trump's Lack of Regulation May Make Some Farmers Very Rich
If the farm bill isn't renewed, the U.S. government will wind up paying farmers a pretty penny. But renewing the bill conflicts with President Trump's executive order for agency deregulation. What's Congress to do?
Where the Bees Live
A White House task force calls for preserving bee habitat—but where are all the bees hanging out, and what are their living arrangements?
What's the Difference Between Antibiotic-Free and GMO-Free?
Only one movement has science to back it.
Trekking Through a Food Desert Surrounded by Farmland
Millions have been spent on initiatives to eliminate food deserts, which are thought to contribute to the increasing incidence of diabetes and obesity in low-income areas. How are disadvantaged people faring in the middle of California, one of the nation's prime agricultural states?
Humanely Raised Pork? The Problem With Factory Farming
Buying a pig born to a humanely raised mama is harder than you’d think.
Building a Better Pig
How have the farm animals of today been shaped by centuries of domestication and selective breeding? Sujata Gupta investigates.
The Healthy Benefits of a Stressed Out Plant
The biological principle of xenohormesis suggests that organic farming advocates might very well be pampering their plants into nutritional laziness.
When It Comes to Animal Farms, Sometimes Size Doesn’t Matter
It’s frighteningly common for those who cover food issues to assume that smaller farms are safer farms. They may be happier, but they’re not necessarily healthier, as the recent spread of a devastating disease shows.