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The facts about factory farms
In the U.S., almost all farm animals spend their lives inside factory farms. They’re bad for animals, bad for us and bad for the planet we share. Here’s why.

Speak up for animals suffering on factory farms
We need world leaders to take responsibility to drive this shift further and faster. By making this shift, we can prevent the suffering of animals on factory farms and protect the world around us.
Farm Bill should support family farmers, not factory farms
With the confirmed deaths of 3.4 million chickens and 5,500 hogs in North Carolina’s factory farms during Hurricane Florence, and the toxic torrent released by the flooded-out fecal lagoons of the industry in that state, a look at federal policy on factory farming could not be more timely. Through
EPA gives factory farms a free pass on toxic air emissions
By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson In an unlawful move, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has decided to exempt massive factory farms from reporting their toxic air emissions -- released from animal waste created by these facilities -- to state and local authorities. The rule, finalized last
Factory Farming and Flu
Public health authorities say a pandemic of influenza, triggered by bird or swine flu, is inevitable, impacting millions around the globe. The influenza virus has existed for millions of years as a harmless intestinal virus of wild ducks. What turned it into a killer? In the last few decades, an
The next global pandemic could begin at a factory farm: HSI report
No one can predict when or where the next global public health crisis will arise. But a Humane Society International white paper concludes that farming animals on a large scale poses a serious risk. The novel coronavirus is believed to have originated in a wildlife market in Wuhan, China, from
Factory Egg Farms in Mexico
At odds with the country's tradition of small, independent, rural farms, the majority of Mexico's commercial eggs, meat, and dairy products now come from large intensive confinement facilities. These operations, known as animal factories (or factory farms), fail to provide for many of the animals'
In historic decision, federal court upholds verdict that Smithfield’s factory farming practices made its neighbors miserable
A federal court has ruled that a jury was right in holding Smithfield responsible for creating a nuisance for a community in the vicinity of a pig growing facility in North Carolina. Neighbors of the Smithfield-affiliated facility, which held 15,000 pigs, had alleged that the company essentially
Mostly plant-based Oscars signal growing American concern over cruel factory farms
One of the Oscars' most memorable moments this year came with Joaquin Phoenix’s heartfelt plea about the suffering of animals raised for food. The speech, which drew concern for animals into a broader framework of social injustice, followed an A-list nod to plant-based eating from the awards
Court clears way for lawsuit against USDA policy of rewarding factory farms that spread bird flu
A federal district court has cleared the way for our lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s irresponsible and dangerous plans for responding to outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, commonly known as the “bird flu.” The agency’s current plans, which we and our allies
Trump’s ag relief program will benefit factory farms, not family farmers
What many commentators have cast as President Trump’s predilection for trade wars has certainly caused consternation and even outrage as it has became clear that more tariffs on exports of American farm products would result in major losses for the agricultural sector. That was especially true for
Campaign Against Factory Farming in India
HSI's Factory Farming Campaign in India seeks to raise awareness about the conditions under which animals in India are reared, and to empower both activists and every-day consumers to live more compassionate and sustainable lives. The vast majority of commercial egg and meat products in India come
Why some veterinarians keep fighting to end one of the worst factory farm practices
It’s a gruesome topic that no one really likes to talk about but last week the methods for “depopulating”—killing—hundreds of thousands of pigs and chickens during a natural or manmade disaster, such as a pandemic like COVID-19, were front and center at a meeting of the American Veterinary Medical
Today’s mix on Morning Joe: Wildlife markets, factory farms and the COVID-19 crisis
I appeared today on MSNBC’s Morning Joe to speak about the COVID-19 crisis and wildlife markets with Humane Society International’s Peter Li and our colleague Gene Baur of Farm Sanctuary. Together, we made the case for an immediate end to wildlife markets all over the world, and described the filth
A world of change
Humane Society International fights the spread of factory farming around the globe.
Jury says pork producer has to pay $25 million in damages, even as North Carolina lawmakers rush to protect factory farms
North Carolina residents who live near giant pig factory farms have long complained about the stench from the open manure lagoons, the swarms of flies that descend on their homes, mobs of vultures who pick over rotting hog carcasses and the constant rumbling of trucks driving back and forth. These
Compassion Without Borders
by Julie Falconer What awakens Fausto Limón in the middle of the night isn’t a sound but a smell. Since 1994, the Perote Valley, Mexico, resident’s closest neighbor has been a massive pig farm co-owned by U.S.-based Smithfield Foods. When the stench is unbearable, Limón and his family get out of bed
World Health Organization implicates fur farming in search for origins of COVID-19 pandemic
MONTREAL—The World Health Organization has published its report, WHO-convened Global Study of the Origins of SARS-CoV-2, and identified fur farming as an area of interest in the search for the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. The joint WHO-China study suggests that wild animals intensively bred
HSUS fights efforts by states to gag whistleblowers on factory farms, keep puppy mills in business
Right now, as they do every year, our opponents are mobilizing in state legislatures around the country to halt the march forward for animal protection. Even as we have worked with countless stakeholders to win passage of hundreds of bills and local ordinances year after year, our opponents have dug
Factory farms are baking pigs alive during the pandemic. Veterinarians call for changing guidance on this barbaric killing method
As a result of slaughterhouse closures during the pandemic, some producers have used a cruel method called “ventilation shutdown,” or VSD, to kill whole herds of pigs. Ventilator shutdown involves locking a flock or herd of animals in a building and turning off the ventilation systems. As the