factory farm

15 Stories

I Made Off With 2 Piglets. A Jury Found Me Not Guilty

Animal rights activist Wayne Hsiung delves into his acquittal

(Newser) - In March 2017, five animal rights activists entered Smithfield's Circle Four Farms in Milford, Utah, and made off with two piglets whose condition, the activists alleged, meant certain death. Smithfield was unaware of the thefts until a video of the act was posted months later by the New York ...

Humane League Says Chicken Has a White Striping Problem

It found the fat deposits in at least one breast fillet in 99% of packages it looked at

(Newser) - The taste of your supermarket chicken hasn't changed, but its makeup has. That's according to a Humane League report out Monday that looked at the increasingly ubiquitous nature of "white striping" among the poultry sold in US stores. Bloomberg explains: Factory farming plumps chickens up on such...

PETA Demands Turkey Memorial; Utah: Uh, No

UDOT scotches request to honor hundreds of turkeys who died in tractor-trailer accident

(Newser) - A week and a half ago, a tractor-trailer plunged into a reservoir in Utah, killing more than 700 of the 720 souls aboard. Those souls were turkeys, and as such PETA wasted no time in requesting that the Utah Department of Transportation put up a roadside memorial to commemorate "...

To Rebuild Company, Sharp Turns to ... Strawberries

Will grow the fruit indoors in Dubai, sell it to rich Middle Easterners

(Newser) - Remember Sharp? Perhaps you owned one of the Japanese company's TVs many years ago. Perhaps you still do—though that's less likely, given, as Reuters reports, the company had to get bailed out by banks last year after posting a $5.5 billion loss. So to address its...

Pink Slime a Symptom of a Darker Disease

 Pink Slime a Symptom 
 of a Darker Disease 
Mark Bittman
Apr 4, 2012 11:12 AM CDT

Pink Slime a Symptom of a Darker Disease

Mark Bittman reminds us that there's far worse stuff in our meat

(Newser) - Public outcry appears to have essentially killed "pink slime" (or as its producers would prefer you refer to it, "Lean Finely Textured Beef"), and Mark Bittman can't help but find that encouraging—and a little ironic. "The stuff is gross, for sure, but it’s...

Why We Stopped Being Vegetarians
 Why We Stopped 
 Being Vegetarians 
OPINION
Dec 20, 2011 2:25 PM CST

Why We Stopped Being Vegetarians

A butcher, hunter, and rancher discuss the ethics of eating animals

(Newser) - For long stretches of their lives, Nicolette Niman, Tovar Cerulli and Joshua Applestone were all vegetarians or vegans. Now, they’re a rancher, a hunter, and a butcher, respectively, who “firmly believe food from animals can be healthful, environmentally appropriate, and ethical,” they write in the Atlantic . Their...

PETA to Turkey, Texas: Change Name to 'Tofurky'

Animal rights group promises vegan feast for all residents if city complies

(Newser) - Apparently, going after a video game character wasn’t the only publicity stunt this week: Now PETA has petitioned Turkey, Texas, to rename itself … wait for it … "Tofurky." Of course, the change would just be for Thanksgiving, explains the animal rights group in a letter to...

Organic Egg Farm Accused of Factory Farm Conditions

Petaluma Egg Farm is a top producer for Organic Valley label

(Newser) - Organic eggs: The phrase brings to mind chickens roaming in a pasture, foraging for food, and scratching the ground. But at California's Petaluma Egg Farm, which provides eggs under the Organic Valley label, hens are confined to screened porches with a roof and a floor. Technically, the eggs meet...

Scandals, Cruelty, Violations at Farm Behind Egg Recall

Recall expands to 380 million eggs

(Newser) - Looking for a villain in the massive egg recall announced Wednesday? Then meet Jack DeCoster, head of Wright County Eggs. The farm provided salmonella-tainted eggs to 15 of the 25 restaurants where people have gotten sick, and has, under DeCoster’s leadership, been involved in loads of scandals and health...

Activists Win Battle in War on Factory Farms

New farms in Ohio won't use extreme caging

(Newser) - Ohio’s biggest farms have agreed to a series of new restrictions on how they confine their animals, hoping to prevent a potentially losing ballot standoff with the Humane Society and other animal rights groups. Under the deal, no new egg farms will be built using extreme caging methods, and...

'Peace' Chickens Bred to Avoid Farm Cannibalism

'Kinder, Gentler Birds' don't turn peck-happy

(Newser) - Moves to boost the welfare of egg-laying hens by giving them more space will backfire unless the industry switches to more peaceful chickens, says a researcher who claims to have bred a gentler bird. Breeding to maximize output among the white leghorns that lay most of America's eggs has had...

NBC Turns Down PETA Ad
 NBC Turns Down PETA Ad 
UNHAPPY HOLIDAYS
Nov 24, 2009 12:37 PM CST

NBC Turns Down PETA Ad

Commercial, intended for Macy's parade, has no disturbing images

(Newser) - This is the ad PETA wanted to run during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, but NBC shot them down, saying it “does not meet NBC Universal Standards.” As you can see in the video, there’s nary an offensive image, just a little girl describing the horrors...

Rights Group Films Workers Grinding Chicks Alive

Animal rights group uncovers disgusting practices at Iowa egg hatchery

(Newser) - An undercover video shot by an animal rights group at an Iowa egg hatchery shows workers discarding unwanted male chicks by tossing them live into a grinder, and other chicks falling through a sorting machine to die on the factory floor. Chicago-based Mercy for Animals said it shot the video...

Modern Farming Has Lost Its Soul
 Modern Farming Has 
 Lost Its Soul 
OPINION
Aug 23, 2009 10:56 AM CDT

Modern Farming Has Lost Its Soul

Family farms have a magic all their own—and can compete

(Newser) - We know today’s food industry cranks out “unhealthy food, mishandles waste, and overuses antibiotics,” writes Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times, but the heart of the matter is that today’s industrial farms have “no soul.” In a visit back to his old stomping...

HBO Cruelty Doc Makes Pork Industry Squeamish

(Newser) - A documentary on animal cruelty at an Ohio hog farm has the pork industry considering how to better represent its “commitment to animal care,” Reuters reports. The footage in Death on a Factory Farm, taken secretly, led to animal-cruelty prosecutions, though the charged workers were acquitted. HBO airs...

15 Stories