Beef Products, Inc. gained national media attention last fall when it filed the lawsuit against ABC News. BPI claims that ABC’s coverage of lean finely textured beef was unfair and led to the closure of three plants and loss of work for more than 700 BPI employees. Now the case is back in a South Da
In a review of some 600 swine slaughtering plants, the Office of the Inspector General focused on 30 plants that raised red flags. Onsite visits by the OIG revealed inspectors were not following proper steps to ensure diseased meat does not enter the food supply.
An investigation by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting and Connectas into the ethanol industry's lobbying has found that over the last five years the industry -its companies and associations- has spent around $150 million between 2008 and 2012 - up $10 million a year than in previous
As factory farms in Minnesota and elsewhere take over more and more of the nation’s livestock production, a major environmental threat has emerged: pollution from the waste produced by the immense crush of animals.
The immigration bill that the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee took up Thursday includes a provision for farmworkers that shortens their waiting period for legal residency.
Taxpayers are contributing billions more than necessary for farmers’ crop insurance, according to a new report from the Environmental Working Group (EWG). The study, which examined the 2012 crop year, argues that big subsidies channel farmers into lavish policies that in some cases paid drought-affl
Imagine Upton Sinclair with an iPhone. Sinclair went undercover in 1904 to document squalid conditions in Chicago's meatpacking plants, leading to his muckraking novel The Jungle. His reporting led to new public health laws two years later. In today's social media world, Upton's expose would have go
In the spirit of Sunshine Week, the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting looked at the laws in place or under consideration that impact reporting on the agriculture industry. A Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting analysis found that there are nearly 40 laws now under consideration - mor
The push by the agriculture industry to restrict free speech and access to information is increasing, with at least seven more states considering farm protection laws – also, known as “ag-gag” laws.
The latest salvo in the agriculture industry’s fight against media coverage has been fired at the use of drones. The drones are now being used and considered for use by law enforcement, precision agriculture and by journalists, but those worried about overall privacy are questioning the widespread u
Expect crude oil prices to jump at least 28 percent over the next decade and raise agriculture production costs, according to new estimates by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Agribusiness political action committees contributed more than $18 million to federal candidates this election season, according to the campaign spending watchdog group Open Secrets.
