Hog farming has a massive poop problem

Inside North Carolina’s search for solutions for its thousands of pig manure lagoons.
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For this third episode of our video series with Vox’s Future Perfect team, we went to North Carolina, a state that for decades has been a battleground over the public health impact of hog farming.
Watch Episode 1, How 4 companies control the beef industry: • How 4 companies contro...
Watch Episode 2, The chicken industry's worker safety problem: • The chicken industry’s...
​​Animal Charity Evaluators provided funding without editorial input for the production of this series.
I interviewed two people in North Carolina who do not appear in the video: Sherri White-Williamson, who heads the Environmental Justice Community Action Network, or EJCAN, a nonprofit working toward water testing in the area, particularly of private wells.
ejcan.org/
I also interviewed Jeff Currie, a member of the Lumbee tribe in North Carolina, and a Waterkeeper Alliance worker whose job it is to test the Lumber River watershed for contamination. The Lumbee tribe is primarily located in Robeson County, one of the areas with a high concentration of hog farms that we cover in the video.
waterkeeper.org/news/who-is-w...
Another feature of North Carolina that makes it more vulnerable to water contamination is its permeable, sandy soil in areas with a high concentration of hog farms. Experts told me this area used to be swampland, and was drained to make way for agriculture. My colleague Liz Scheltens mentions a similar historical context in a video she made about Lake Erie and cow waste pollution:
• This lake now has lega...
The location of hog farms in North Carolina is related to the history of tobacco farming in the state. When the public health effects of smoking became clear, the government stopped supporting it. Many North Carolina farmers started to diversify their practices, including raising hogs. That’s exactly how Tom Butler got into raising pigs - he was once a tobacco farmer:
archive.pov.org/brightleaves/h...
Advocates and community members are also deeply concerned about the proliferation of large-scale poultry facilities in North Carolina, which accelerated when the moratorium on new or expanded hog farms was enacted in 1997:
www.wunc.org/environment/2020...
The Align RNG map we show in this video, illustrating where a proposed methane pipeline might go, has been a source of heated debate in North Carolina. The Southern Environmental Law Center and other organizations have asked the state for more transparency about where the farms and the pipeline are located in order to get informed public input on the project. More details on this are in this story:
ncpolicywatch.com/2020/11/16/...
We contacted Align RNG and Smithfield for this story, and they both said they sought public input for the biogas project and touted the project’s potential for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. They also said that the state of North Carolina has “stringent” permit regulations that they adhere to.
Vox’s Future Perfect team covered this issue here:
www.vox.com/future-perfect/20...
And in a podcast episode, as part of their series on meat:
open.spotify.com/episode/6N7j...
A similar debate about the promises of biogas is happening in the dairy industry as well:
civileats.com/2020/04/24/are-...
ProPublica has a more in-depth investigation into the Smithfield agreement:
www.propublica.org/article/a-...
I learned a lot from Melba Newsome’s writing and reporting on this issue for North Carolina Health News:
www.northcarolinahealthnews.o...
Rick Dove of the Waterkeeper Alliance manages a website that tracks this issue:
www.riverlaw.us/
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[@Vox]

Thanks for watching. It’s worth noting that North Carolina is not the only place where the lagoon and sprayfield system exists. A lot of large-scale pig farms in the US store and dispose of waste in this way. In states like Iowa that experience more frequent freezing temperatures however, farms store the waste in deep pits under the hog buildings. Other states require lagoons to be covered. And, small-scale farmers graze their pigs. But I couldn’t find anywhere a version of a wastewater treatment plant that most advocates are calling for, aside from the pilot projects funded through the Smithfield agreement in North Carolina, one of which we show in the video. It seems clear to me that changing this system would require an industry-wide sea change, led by corporations fronting the cost and more government regulation. For our international audience: Does your country raise hogs in a way that looks different than this? If so, I’d love to hear about it below. -Laura

[@superninja2022]

Yw

[@addetidinesh9977]

❤ for your hard work

[@stevebulbowmd7142]

To Vox: I´ve been granted Patent Pending status by the USTPO that specifically deals with the pig waste issue. It addresses & resolves all the issues mentioned in this video. Experienced on the subject & have been doing this for 7 1/2 years. It helps the environment(by dramatically reducing G.H. gases, ON TWO FRONTS). It helps the soil by not having to dump nitrates & phosphates as fertilizers thus, protecting underground water reserves as well. It also helps in the food sustainability chain. My process is cheaper than anything that has been mentioned in this video AND money is either made or saved(depending if you´re on the buying or selling side?). North Carolina alone has the potential for a new, $456M dollar/yr industry in UTILITIES. In other words, they´d actually make money for cleaning up their environment, the land & underground water reserves!

[@esgee3829]

thank you for pointing to the anu sinstead of showing us the feces in the thumbnail. That way we can still feel a little removed from it while eating our double carnitas burrito.

[@zeitgeistx5239]

Disappointing you guys didn’t bring up the studies showing how rates of skin and respiratory infections in hog farming counties.

[@youngsixty7395]

The fact that we get free documentaries on KZbin by Vox is truly a gift 👍

[@drnotuseless]

Ok

[@impendio]

Extremely good series, everyone should know these things. We can’t give away our future just for cheap meat today…

[@eliopalombi]

Not the best alternative for the environment, but switching to chicken instead of going full vegetarian or vegan is already a great step forwards. Plus red meat is so much worse for your health!

[@G_Flash84625]

@@eliopalombi The day meat is banned, is the day I hunt my fellow man....starting with all the vegans

[@thatvexiol]

@@G_Flash84625 i mean as much as we love to make fun of vegans they are ultimately right (not all obv)

[@G_Flash84625]

@@thatvexiol I firmly believe in a balanced diet, it's what our ancestors ate so why change it?

[@thatvexiol]

@@G_Flash84625 Don't get me wrong am a chicken 🐔 lover too but they needed it to survive now we have industries and things like tofu artificial meat now we don't eat meat for survival but for enjoyment which is very wrong

[@Dino14345]

Something that isn’t discussed is that hog waste can contain antibiotic resistant bacteria. When that waste flows into waterways, people downstream can get antibiotic resistant infections. The NC waterways discussed flow into the sounds and ocean where fishing and tourism are major industries.

[@atikulislam3973]

This is so FRIGHTENING considering current pandemic situation.

[@Kay0Bot]

Antibodies evolve as well...just a race

[@WoodChoppa911]

@@Kay0Bot depends on how they handle antibiotics. There are super bugs that adapted to almost all, and cannot be destroyed by our immune system. Basically a fatal infection, but probably a digestion one.

[@orangemoonglows2692]

pretty much all animal waste, including human, has antibiotic resistant bacteria.

[@serpentmaster1323]

Did you say antibiotic resistant bacteria? The harmful kind of those are freaking terrifying.

[@isimerias]

It’s an issue here in Quebec too. The government touts eating local but when this local produce is industrial hog farms that are poisoning our groundwater it’s quite ironic…

[@ylstorage7085]

"eat s**t" "well... at least that's local too"

[@Etaoinshrdlu69]

Speaking as an Albertan hog farmer I say let the free market sort it out. Hog on.

[@sarahm4669]

Do you live in an area affected by this? I live in Montreal so I don't know much about how the farming outside of the city works

[@Flow86767]

Le pire c'est que l'industrie porcine au québec n'as jamais été développée dans un but local, mais dans un but d'exportation aux marchés internationaux. Pour être autosuffisant et mieux produire local, il faut diversifié nos produits agricoles, qui malheureusement est domminée par les porcs. Donc le "manger local", on ne s'en rapproche pas avec cette industrie qui ne sert pas ce but!

[@blackpowderkun]

As if the government don't want people to have free water.

[@crimsonghost4107]

It's disgusting that the health board made the church pay for the problems that the industry created.

[@lightningboltt5437]

And they say the US is a place of equality

[@sm3675]

Shame to the government.

[@korbebrallas2075]

@@sm3675 let’s go Brandon

[@greghuffman3061]

well usually the churches dont pay their fair share haha

[@JatPhenshllem]

@@greghuffman3061 Honestly, you're pretty wrong there

[@marwin436]

Here in Germany we have this problem as well, we also have increased nitrate levels in ground water. its not close to being this bad tho

[@sinoroman]

we min-max over here

[@rolfs2165]

Germany also pays regular fines to the EU over this, because that's cheaper than actually doing something about the issue. Well, maybe the new Green minister finally will.

[@cameronpeterson896]

So I don’t understand, why can’t they put this waste through the sewage system? Seems like it’d make so much more sense

[@nostro1940]

@@rolfs2165 the only thing the new government will do is bring more illegal migrants

[@matthiasrambally1899]

Germany population vs america population and you'd see why it ain't that bad

[@pablo.4011]

I blame the government for allowing farms to do this and not putting harsher regulations when it comes to waste disposal. Of course big companies and their investors are going to choose the solution that best lines their pockets, no matter the repercussions on the surrounding communities. Shame on the government for choosing big corporations over their own citizens and the environment's well being, but at this point I cant say Im surprised.

[@Tustin2121]

I’m sure the state government chose big companies over their own citizens because of the big company’s lobbyists paying for politicians’ campaigns and fundraising efforts. Lobbyists should be outlawed...

[@abdullahcaner7598]

@@Tustin2121 Lobbyists are the biggest problem of US

[@scpatl4now]

NC has some of the worst water quality in the nation. From coal tar pits that are allowed to leach into the groundwater, DuPont which dumps forever chemicals into rivers without any kind of penalty, to hog farms that contaminate ground water. At what point do people say enough? My guess is that most people who live there have no idea what they are consuming until they get a cancer diagnosis, but then, the damage is done.

[@neeneko]

@@abdullahcaner7598 Eh, lobbyists are also kinda a scapegoat. ultimately it is the voters who decide who is in office and who is not, and THAT threat is what politicians respond to. 'lobbyist' makes a good boogieman that we can point to and say 'see, it isn't us!'.. but really, the reason NC is so bad is that if you go around and poll voters, they tend to vote for the people who put these lax regulations in place.

[@legoguy910]

@@neeneko I agree that we need more voter participation and a lot of voters vote for the wrong people for the wrong reasons. However we often don't have much of a choice when it comes to avoiding bought politicans. The way our political system works at the moment, even the most well-meaning politicians need money from lobbyists in order to fund their campaigns. We need to fundamentally reform our democracy to end this period of disillisionment.

[@jedro86]

This is simply a peek at a much larger issue related to the entire meat production industry. Meat prices have to go up (or maybe the conglomerates can simply accept a little less profit) or municipalities need to assist farmers if they are to afford these proven technologies.

[@clinomaniaeuphoria6995]

Well meat would be more expensive if not for subsidies

[@draunt7]

They need to remove the meat subsidies and force the meat production companies to pay for their waste.

[@sm3675]

Pig farms for kilometers is not healthy. Monoculture, but with animals....

[@jeffersonott4357]

@@draunt7 where is the lab meat?

[@JohnSmith-eo5sp]

Time to get these Southerners to stop eating their favorite meat: PORK. No pork consumption means the mass industry dies out

[@WorldsOkayestSorcerer]

My grandparents kept hogs. They stink in a way that I can’t even adequately describe. I can only imagine the gruesome stench of a farm solely dedicated to the mass raising of these animals. Imagining what the “lagoon” must smell like - let alone the danger to health it must pose - is enough to make my stomach do flips. We have to re-think the way we get our food in this country. It’s going to come back to bite us in a catastrophic way.

[@cdjhyoung]

Not every commercial hog farm 'stinks'. Whether the farm stinks or not is very much an issue with how the hogs are managed.

[@JohnSmith-eo5sp]

So stop eating pork :-!

[@WorldsOkayestSorcerer]

@@JohnSmith-eo5sp Working on that, actually. I’ve cut all meat intake by 3/4 since turning 42; with a goal of eliminating it completely in the next year.

[@casedistorted]

Oh yeah it’ll be too late soon too. America is a reallly f’d up country to live in

[@The40yearoldVegan]

@@WorldsOkayestSorcerer 8 years no meat for me. I did for ethics bc I worked in this industry.

[@arvisvalit7960]

Pigs aren’t naturally inclined to wallow in their own filth. That is a stereotype created by the industry that breeds and exploits them. They are clean and intelligent animals but we treat them as machines.

[@Wasserkaktus]

They want to wallow in wet mud when it is hot, but when that is in short supply, they have to use their own filth.

[@ryanhajekVEVO]

@@Wasserkaktus correct, that’s because pigs lack sweat glands

[@Wasserkaktus]

@@ryanhajekVEVO They lack sweat glands AND they can't pant like other mammals to cool themselves off.

[@jordanclarke5747]

@@Wasserkaktus they can pant fyi

[@zoeredadams]

@@jordanclarke5747any mammal can pant at least a little bit - but pigs can’t pant effectively in the way dogs can.

[@acmulhern]

Environmental issues are also human rights issues. Once we realise this and act accordingly we can tackle both issues at once.

[@Random17Game]

Did they really tried to make this about Race, like the city has a conspiracy plot to try and be racist, oh god, the video would have been good without this conspiracy theories it hurts the main and valid message of the video that we could try for better ways of waste disposal mabye through subsidies, at the end of the day the Hog Farms must be somewhere

[@acmulhern]

@@Random17Game communities of colour are usually poorer, so they live in areas that are cheaper. That's also where farmers buy land. Don't think anyone is implying that the farmers intentionally stink up black neighbourhoods, but that's what the statistics seem to show.

[@screwyourhandle]

​@@Random17Game People of color in the US started out at an economic disadvantage, and have never had a chance to catch up. Class and race are therefore inextricably linked, and anything which disproportionately affects the poor, disproportionately affects people of color. No conspiracy required. Pollution as a racial inequality issue is a highly documented and researched phenomenon.

[@Random17Game]

@@acmulhern I agree with your first part, thats what happens, but VOX seems to imply that the County or whatever only gives permits nearby black communities with the intention to be racist when it isn't the case

[@gianlucazanon1505]

How about animal rights?

[@stephenshoihet2590]

Several years ago I watched a show where they were flying over pig farms to check out their waste usage and one had an impulse sprinkler that was stationary and discharging directly into a creek.

[@tinayoga8844]

That is certainly not a normal situation. What is the norm is what has been shown in this program. It is in no way a good solution, but not like the one instance you described.

[@Waddayatakamefor]

A very similar problem arises in the cattle industry and basically everywhere livestock is being raised and held. Large death zones in the oceans where literally nothing lives and the oxygen levels are very low while nitrogen levels are particularly high have been connected to manure runoff...

[@hydroxd0]

Honestly this is really intresting and you guys have really good editing. That's actually how I found the channel good job

[@kwanlinus6999]

But can you feed your people otherwise? That is the question. P.S. not in support of industrial farming

[@avykh99]

@@kwanlinus6999 honestly I'd rather just go without pork.

[@kwanlinus6999]

@@avykh99 But this isn't only a problem with pork. Its worse with Beef and Mutton. Seems like chicken is the only one which is sort of sustainable, and then there is avian flu.

[@hydroxd0]

One more like then 100

[@Delvy787]

2 parts: 1)Reduce consumer consumption. Eating todays current amounts of meat is still relatively new compared to the rest of human history. 2)Incentivizing industry to handle their waste via more regulation focused on consumer, environmental and animal protections.

[@CPRodrigues8]

That is such a GREAT piece of journalism! Here in Brazil this issue is also present in many of our new farming frontiers, also damaging Amazônia in it's expansion.

[@Kimmaline]

I grew up across the road from a similar facility for chickens. We were extremely poor, on well water, and when my mom would do her typical disappearing act for days or weeks at a time, the owner of the chicken farm would come spray the manure on our pastures--claiming he was "helping" us by fertilizing the land. I was *always* sick, and didn't even realize how abnormal it was until I got out and moved to the city.

[@Zeverinsen]

There are many viable solutions, but they must be forced into law in order to be implemented. Corporations will NEVER do what's best for anyone or anything but their own profit, regardless of who it impacts and how, as long as it isn't someone who can make legislation.

[@chikinspicy6021]

I absolutely agree that these practices are unequitable, but your sentiments do not apply to all farmers nor corporations.

[@cheryllewis3059]

100% accurate in what you say Severinsen!!!

[@mikolowiskamikolowiska4993]

You like tyranny don't you. Force goes around then comes around. One day you will be forced to do something you don't like.

[@laesonated]

However, if we make the solution to the problem more profitable than continuing to perpetuate the problem, they'll immediately switch over. It's just a matter of how do we do that.

[@cheryllewis3059]

@@mikolowiskamikolowiska4993 ummmm isn’t that what’s happening now ? What r u saying ?

[@CP-012]

North Carolina has a unique problem that is easy solved. They can do what other jurisdictions in North America have had to adopt. Cover their holding pits, and INJECT the manure into the field soil via the pumpout hose method. They will have to be state monitored for nitrate levels in the soil, and they must have adequate acres to use the manure for crop growth. If not, then the manure must be trucked to a distant field where it can be used safely, Or move the farm. I’m an independent hog producer and I’ve done this. It should not matter the size of the operation, it must be environmentally friendly, or it must be scaled back or closed.

[@cdjhyoung]

Animal waste management is probably the next item Federal intervention will be needed for. Some solvable issues I see with South Carolina's hog waste problem I see are: first, the density of the over all number of hog farms is too high. The industry needs to decentralize so the over all impact to one area is reduced. Second, manure digesters work, and can be made economical to run. One exists on a huge dairy farm in my area. It was built with private funds and has been cost effective since construction. It is more than 20 years old, so it has been successful even though new, better technologies have been invented. Three: spray on field disposal of wastes needs to be stopped. Locally to me, there is a company that specializes in emptying lagoons and field injecting the waste. The stench from this lasts only a few days in the worst of seasons. It is not an answer that can be implemented year round, but it works much better for the impact it has on the rural neighbors than spray application of waste. Four: Permitting mega farms must be ended. Research the minimum sustainable operation and limit permits to that size. It is not just the number of animals, but also the available acreage to dispose these wastes. Five: Waste disposal should not be the goal: fully retrieving the components of animal manure should be the goal. Injecting the proper amount of digested waste into the soil can improve fertility and not contribute to run off if done at appropriate levels. Six: Bust up these mega packer into a more competitive business model. I have watched the change in the meat packing industry as medium size meat packer closed in the face of the mega operations we have today. Like all businesses that become oliographies, the only benefits derived from the multi-tiered business are bestowed to the owners at the top of the pyramid. The farmers and other industries in the pyramid have no control of the business as far as pricing or free markets or input costs, but bare virtually all of the risks and liabilities.

[@CP-012]

@@cdjhyoung I couldn’t agree with you more.

[@jreed1701d]

I don't think I would have ever known about or thought about this issue if this video was not made. Thank you.

[@bebepopsr]

Excellent series, I've learned so much. The scale of it all is frightening, I'm going to further reduce meat consumption

[@jmckendry84]

That's great. Ultimately if less meat is getting sold then the total environmental impact is reduced. People ought to understand what the impact of their meat consumption habits really are, not just in abstract terms of C02 emissions and whatnot, but also that ordinary working people to like them are having their lives and health negatively impacted by this.

[@Wasserkaktus]

Meat should only comprise at most 10% of a human's diet (it should be closer to 5%).

[@lolm4ker994]

@@Wasserkaktus Totaly agree. I see way too often people arguing that since meat is "natural" it is okay to eat it to every meal in high amounts. Back when we were "natural" we didn't have supermarket-access to meat

[@Wasserkaktus]

@@lolm4ker994 At no point in human history have we consumed as much meat as we do now (apart from hunters who had ample game in the Pleistocene Steppe and in the Arctic North). We are omnivores but our diets should be very, very plant-centric, which is frankly better for our health anyways.

[@sandracartica4932]

Reducing meat consumption is not the answer.

[@dannyvu5207]

Trying to imagine how amazing our societies would be without animal factory farming...

[@clinomaniaeuphoria6995]

Seriously though.

[@zorkmid1083]

They would be societies without much meat unless you could afford it.

[@JohnSmith-eo5sp]

A lot would go hungry in the short term

[@RK-cj4oc]

Very hungry.

[@rontropics26]

Those aren't "adult" pigs as stated. Pigs can live over ten years and most pigs are slaughtered in just 6 months.

[@cillyhoney1892]

Young meat is tender, old meat is tough. They grow them until they reach their maximum size. They do the same with poultry and cattle. Steer are slaughtered at two years and they live for 30 years. I might be wrong about the exact numbers though. Same principle though. Why maintain an animal once it's reached it's maximum size and is only going to cost more to feed and maintain and gets less valuable as a meat product the longer it lives?

[@mysticalsoap]

@@cillyhoney1892 It's about wording. Most people probably delusionally think that the animal killed for the meat on their plate lived out some semblance of a full life, when in reality they don't even reach the equivalent of teenage years in humans.

[@tinayoga8844]

In most places an adult human is anyone who has reached the age of 18 years. Adult does not differentiate between a 18 year old or an eighty year old. So the term 'adult' in the program is correct. They are adult pigs.

[@jkeelsnc]

I live in NC myself. The ironic thing is that I eat very little pork even in a state famous for pork bbq. The hog farms are a real problem and this problem needs to be corrected.

[@scpatl4now]

Along with forever chemicals dumped in rivers and coal tar pits that also contaminate ground water. The state has the power to do something. We need to hold the people in office accountable to the people who put them in office. Left or Right, you drink the same water.

[@jkeelsnc]

@@scpatl4now good luck with the current legislature. They are more interested in kissing the behinds of corporations and people with money (esp who line their campaign chests). And yes we need to hold these jokers accountable.

[@Etaoinshrdlu69]

Speaking as a proud 3rd generation hog farmer I say hog on boys. Eeeeeeeehaaaa

[@farmsim_usa9235]

They're not the problem, the companies behind them are the problem. Smithfield for example is the problem, not the farmers it's suckered into a ridiculous contract with.

[@thebigdoghimself]

I know in Milwaukee, Milorganite is made from human poo. Maybe a similar company needs to set up shop in NC. Milorganite seems to always be in short supply.

[@verdeilcyprien4102]

The problem of livestock (mostly pigs) is well known in France specifically in Bretagne. The waste lead to mass reproduction of green algae which acoast on beaches releasing deadly gas which lead to the death of many animals and people. The government officials would (and still don't for many) not admit that it is a consequence of intensive and irresponsible farming, pressured by the lobby of the agro industry (and tourism industry). One of them was Macron's agronomy counsellor... Most farmers cannot convert to a sustainable way of farming/ raising cattle as they own a lot to the big companies in the agro industry, companies that have the power to decide which cattle farm makes money and which do not (by various means of pressure). The problem is deeply rooted in the system with an enormous corruption problem. That's one more exemple showing how intensive agriculture in our economic system cannot and will never be efficient and sustainable.

[@PetitPoneyDuVercors26]

I was going to talk about that too, but you explained it quite well :) Malheureusement à part en parler pour que ça devienne un sujet hyper présent dans les médias et les esprits c'est trop bloqué pour que ça change vite...

[@verdeilcyprien4102]

@@PetitPoneyDuVercors26 Thank you, I made some English mistakes tho :(. Eh oui je suis entierement d'accord avec toi ! J'ai lu la BD Algues Vertes récemment, je te la recommande si tu ne la connais pas, elle dresse un très bon portrait de ce sujet, et je me suis rendu compte à quel point c'était compliqué en plus du fait que c'est encore complètement d'actualité...

[@domramsey]

How is it even legal to keep animals like that?

[@Tustin2121]

Lobbyists

[@s-statik]

Because it makes money because you are buying it

[@Catofminerva]

Billions of people choose to eat these animals. To meet that demand while making any sort of profit, animals in farms have to be treated like commodities.

[@domramsey]

@@Catofminerva No. No they don't. Look at the farming standards in the rest of the world, especially Europe. Plus, there's plenty of evidence to show that meat just tastes better when animals are less stressed. You of course are free to eat whatever you like. But it is incorrect to suggest that cramming animals into sheds is the only way to do it profitably.

[@Catofminerva]

@@domramsey Cramming farm animals into cages is not banned in the EU. You are delusional if you think there’s enough land and capital to sustain what you’re calling for. You know what would be a good solution though? Stop making those demands with your wallet. Every animal is bred into existence to be killed prematurely for your 5 second taste pleasure, even in the ‘humane’ farm in the world.

[@phils6582]

In the EU, already for 30 years there are limits to the total amount of animal manure/fertilisers you can spread on agricultural land, which match the nutrient load applied to the crop requirement (Nitrates Directive 91/676/EEC). It would probably be necessary for the owner of a large pig farm like those shown to tanker slurry to other farms to be spread so that the limits are not exceeded. It is also hard to imagine a system of manure/slurry spreading that could be worse for ammonia and odor emissions. In several EU countries and the UK, there are (NL) or are proposed (IRL) restrictions to Low Emission Slurry Spreading methods to reduce environmental and human health/nuisance damage. *Edited typo

[@sophiatomlinson1231]

Still, many regions in the EU with intensive pig farming suffer from high nitrate levels in ground water even though these directives exist :(

[@todd1547]

We have the exact same regulations here. Every farm is required to file a nutrient management every year that determines the amount of nutrients that can be applied per acre based on the status of the soil, the nutrient content in the manure and the nutrient demand from the crop being grown. There are some different regulations in parts of Europe with unique circumstances such as Holland being almost entirely below sea level.

[@smorgis]

I've gone 90% plant based these last 2 years because of educating myself

[@PatrykKarter]

Awesome! Keep it up :) I've been vegan for over 5 years and never felt better. It's up to us consumers to vote with our money and stop funding the animal agriculture which is destroying the planet.

[@grmpEqweer]

I've been vegan for about 20 years now. I think it's a good choice.

[@jeffreyslater6556]

I’m a proud carnivore because of my education.

[@smorgis]

@@jeffreyslater6556 So what you're saying is you've never been educated on it

[@bolasblancas420]

@@smorgis if one chooses to eat meats, one is uneducated?

[@kimaya.3563]

my old neighborhood had pig farms too, and they disposed of the waste into rivers which is really nasty and it always smells so bad

[@kittymervine6115]

There is a small hog farm near where I live, the kids like to stop there, as the pigs all live in a huge field where they run around (often with babies) and have nice little huts for rain and sun and in winter are moved to another enclosure with warm sheds for them. I'll admit they sure have made a huge fun looking mud zone out of their acres of free space to run, but if pigs could be happy I think these pigs are....but it is on a very small scale and all the pork is sold locally. In fact you can just stop by and pick up what's on sale that day. While not eating meat is probably best, buying local meat (it's often out there if you look for it), is also a nice option. At least for our local pigs.

[@ernstschmidt4725]

those pigs are not only local, but also much better raised with much more space (for starters they can actually walk). however those field farms probably produce less pork at higher costs, that's why the horrors of factory farming happen, to cheaply feed the great urban masses.

[@fredi50]

Once again a great Video by you guys, I just have one complaint. You have a lot of international viewers, and converting the imperial system all the time is a hassle for me, so if you could just also mention, or put up the metric values on the screen that would be great!!

[@ErinMott09]

Ikr, I don't know why we don't just convert already! The rest of the world uses the metric system! Just one of many big or small issues I have with this country.

[@fghjkl4083]

I live in Europa with its metric System, but I understand it's USA and tolerate to their measurements

[@superninja2022]

@@fghjkl4083 Only USA, Liberia and Myanmar use imperial system. Rest of the world uses metric system, not only Europe.

[@Mystro256]

@@superninja2022 except for some countries that have a confusing mix of both systems... *cough"U.K.*cough*.

[@TheRealSykx]

​@@ErinMott09 even more ironic: the US was an original signatory to ratify the "treaty of the metre" way back in 1875, but instead of rolling out the metric system we just made all our "standard" units a conversion of metric units..ridiculous

[@caracrabtree715]

Noting the largest piece of the methane pie was enteric fermentation, cows aren't supposed to eat corn. Also should switch back to many smaller scale ranches and small independent processing ad distribution. Because of consolidation were ruining our food and health.

[@Tagbadger3]

Many of the farms in the story are already small. The issue is the concentration of the animals on the small farms. It likely isn’t economical to have fewer animals, and they’d have to compensate with owning larger land if they reduced the concentration, which in turn means more expensive meat. It’s all give-and-take. Now we need to decide what costs we’re willing to accept.

[@ivyyoung521]

@@Tagbadger3 In CA the bacon is going way up. We will not have any pork product from bad farming. This should be world wide, not just here in the states.

[@Tinky1rs]

Grass also leads to enteric methane production in cows, perhaps even more as they'd need to eat more of it for a longer period of time to reach slaughter weight.

[@WhatIsMisophonia]

YES WE KNOW THAT, god... You can find that info anywhere. What's oddly not being mentioned almost anywhere is just how much methane these lagoons produce overall; Everyone just skips over it for some reason. I've only found one source that mentioned it so far, and supposedly even though some two thirds of methane from livestock is from enteric ch4, another third is produced by these cesspools. Seriously, why are local governments not taking care of this when there are solutions?!

[@alyssonmachado1254]

I had no idea this problem was that serious, great documentary!

[@DSNCB919]

I live in Raleigh but work down east some days you can smell it all out side of the manufacturing facility I work at depending on how the wind blows

[@dymondkittync]

Agreed. I live in Raleigh but there are so many areas I visit and you can always tell that hog farm smell 🤢

[@andrewhall908]

A few notes: "biogas" is a marketing term. It is simply gas. Similarly, reducing dependence on "fossil fuels" is not the issue. Carbon emissions are. I don't think this video was meant to intentionally mislead, but the terms are confusing and muddle the issue. Long story short: any time someone purports to "solve" an environmental issue by burning more carbon, it is not a real solution.

[@killcat1971]

It's burning gas that started life as carbon in food, it's carbon neutral.

[@m2heavyindustries378]

It's methane, calling it 'gas' confuses/muddles it with the stuff that goes in cars and natural gas from a well. If you want to talk about purporting and muddling the issue start with your own comment.

[@andrewhall908]

@@m2heavyindustries378 irrelevant to carbon emissions. If it's carbon based, it's the same in the it needs to stop.

[@supreetsahu1964]

@@killcat1971 true. Fossil fuels are problematic because we are releasing carbon that was locked away underground. That is not the case for biogas.

[@shay8916]

My family is a from this area in NC. Hyde county. It really smells like hogs everywhere. And most people in my family have well and the water taste so horrible. The water smells like poop. I rarely visit because of the smell

[@TesserId]

3:38 "...coastal flood plain." Well, be interesting to see how rising sea levels affect that.

[@TheRealSykx]

what could go wrong

[@tysonmcjunkin708]

Most of the area is high enough above sea level that sea level rise wont directly effect it. Increased flooding from hurricanes absolutely will be a problem though. In 2018 when Hurricane Florence hit the area, floods washed thousands of tons of hog waste into the Cape Fear river and made the ocean near the mouth of the river dangerous to swim in, as well as giant algal blooms that can choke out marine life. We're probably going to see a lot more of this in the future.

[@ernstschmidt4725]

well you can see it when hurricanes hit the coast.

[@WABiscuit]

Mass industrialized farming is a problem. This isn’t just a local environment problem, there are countless studies to demonstrate the impact these farms have on the global environment and producing feed to feed poorly kept animals. It’s up to the consumer to understand where the meat you buy is from and avoid mass farming and make these farms not “economically feasible”! People can make a difference by simply buying better quality meat which in turn will save your local community and the global environment

[@TheRealSykx]

consumers can't implement systemic change without a revolution. governments have to change the system

[@dmitriedenichkin3006]

And you want for people to buy more expensive meat and became poorer

[@WABiscuit]

@@dmitriedenichkin3006 meat should be a premium product, there are plenty of alternatives, eat it as a treat. We shouldn’t be getting poorer if you eat meat a few times a week in fact it’s probably cheaper. The world needs a compromise otherwise we won’t have one left, we don’t need to be vegan but we need to decrease our meat intake and promote sustainable farming.

[@WABiscuit]

@@TheRealSykx I agree that governments have a lot of power to change the system such as tax unsustainable farming and make the consumer choice easy. I don’t think revolutionary change is needed. The real problem is getting governments to act, consumers buying less meat from unsustainable means will help. You need to increase the demand for more sustainable practices as well, this needs to be gradual shift and that starts with the consumer.

[@cononthegreat806]

Good video and good job showing both sides of the story and not villianizing the farmers while also emphasizing the flaw in the system. Vox makes some of the best videos

[@nunya___]

Vox's reporting has improved 200% over recent years. Excellent work! 💖

[@crimsonghost4107]

I live in NC, thanks for talking about this issue!

[@abbykagari1972]

Again, excellent journalism. I’m always blown away

[@XxBloodSteamxX]

I'm sure fining those companies less than 5% of their yearly income will surely be the move that gets them to act right.

[@Bishka100]

They would not get away with it in Europe... I'm so glad I don't live in the USA.

[@TimChuma]

Any industrial farming has this problem. Has caused big problems with fertiliser runoff onto the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the dairy industry in New Zealand and the sea farming of salmon in Tasmania.

[@taylorbug9]

Farming animals on the scale these companies are doing it on should just be made illegal outright. We all know it's bad in every way possible, there's literally nothing good about it. I lived in a town with an oil refinery in it when I went to college, my tonsils swelled up the first night I was there and they didn't go back down until I moved back home. Air quality is seriously important. And so is quality of life of the animals.

[@RealManasBose]

Lol. If food industries are made illegal then most poor people will starve to death because of the increase in food prices.

[@user-ti6ix5tn2o]

@@RealManasBose that's why have few kids or none at all to prevent overpopulation and wide economic inequality.

[@grmpEqweer]

@@RealManasBose A few people do need to eat meat, but most people... probably don't.

[@user-ti6ix5tn2o]

@@RealManasBose India is one of the worst example of income equality and overpopulation because people like to make more kids and make more problem for the government and the economy. In the future India will have 7billion people. With that population size, India is doomed to become bankrupt.

[@user-ti6ix5tn2o]

@@Paonporteur I was just exaggerating

[@nate_kang]

I like how this video shows the sides of both the non-farmers who are affected negatively by the waste problem as well as of the individual farmers who are powerless to stop the problem that the industry at-large- that is, the *corporations* - has created because they can’t afford to really do anything about it

[@secondengineer9814]

Wow! I love the Future Perfect series! Please keep it up!

[@podbites_snippets]

The fact that youtube gives me Uber eats ads on this video is hilarious

[@PRDreams]

Mine was a Heineken 0.0, which is the best non-alcoholic beer ever made. It taste like the original and I'm all about it.

[@Jly531]

It is very sad that this is happening, thank you very much for the information

[@lowrezz]

this video is great. A level headed discussion about a serious problem.

[@howdy111]

Great job vox. This is journalism at it's finest. A bridge between people and the government. Letting govt know what they should be doing by giving incentives, loans. Hope this problem finds the solution, coz otherwise it will seriously affect local people generations.

[@sidremus]

The arrogance of declaring that a solution to the waste water treatment would only be acceptable if it's "economically viable" is sickening. You create a mess, then you clean it up. If it costs a lot to clean up, well, maybe that should've occurred to you sooner...

[@kaijab615]

Hello! Great Video highlighting ag waste and its problems! I actually study ag/bio engineering at NC state and have worked on a research project involving nutrient recovery and Recyling for hog waste. A couple of things about hog waste and NC. 1. I appreciated the fact that it was included that most hog producers in NC want to change, but can't due to financial hardship. Too often when assessing the major problems of hog waste management in eastern NC, it's the producers that are demonized. Most hog growers in NC are contract producers. To put it more bluntly than the video this means that the ONLY things that the farmer actually owns are the buildings on the property and the waste. Like it was pointed out, the cost of waste management falls on the grower, even though it is the property of the corporation (the actual hog) that produce the waste. Really the reason for the Nitrogen and phosphorus issues in NC comes from the fact that we are taking in N and P from the midwestern states. NC does have one of the highest productions of hogs in the nation but we are very very low in crop production. In fact, there are not enough crop fields in NC to feed the large population of hogs. Because of these most hog feed comes from the Midwest. This feed is the origin of N and P in hog waste. Corn grown in the Midwest removes N and P from the soil, is transported across the country and released back into the environment as hog waste in NC. In reality the most sustainable system would be to send the hog waste BACK to the Midwest so that it can replenish the soil, rather than the extracted N and P to be brought back to the soil via the spreading of synthetic fertilizers. But again the problem of that is economics. I also wanted to highlight that at 15:36 when she talks about how "they have made billions of dollars of these communities" this is the industrial Hog COMPANIES, NOT individual producers. And it should be these profiting companies that should have to take on the financial burden of implementing any of the dozens of sustainable hog waste management technologies and practices that have devolved in the last 30 years. 2. the reason that in NC hog waste is sprayed onto fields as more of a waste disposal method rather than for fertilization is because NC has WAY more hog producers than it does crop producers. In NC so much hog waste is produced that it would be impossible to dispose of all the hog waste on to crop fields. Thats why hog lagoons (and the problems they cause) are more prevalent in NC than mid-west hog producing states. There you have large scale crop farming near(ish) to hog producers, so spraying crop fields is actually a feasible, and useful, disposal method. 3. you actually can reduce ammonia volatilization in hog lagoons, but to do so you have to get the ph suuuper low (like 2 or 3) and it would be super expensive to get pH's that low. Also you then just have extremely acidic hog lagoons (can hold thousands of gallons), which can be as much of a problem as the raw waste.

[@jeanbrandt2624]

I live in Iowa, we consider hog poop an asset, especially as the price of synthetic fertilizer has recently gone up drastically. Farmers are required to have enough land to dispose of the waste before building a new facility. Waste must be worked into the soil immediately. Doesn’t smell like lilacs while the waste is being applied, but the smell goes away pretty quickly.

[@user-kv1po2dm5j]

i live here too, and i 100% agree.

[@bryantanderson430]

Why don't you just eat the poop?

[@expansivegymnast1020]

This was one of the best videos y'all have ever made.

[@knottyheadrich5887]

I live in North Carolina. Smithfield packing is one of the largest hog processing plants in the world. It does affect the local residents.

[@stapleman007]

Basically everyone in the video gets their money from pigs, one way or another.

[@sandeepprasad8353]

"Clear water is not black and white issue, it's a human issue" Dude is right...

[@Hoxgene]

Very well made episode. sound effects and the information were very engaging

[@miker7032]

Vox has consistently been one of the best media channels on KZbin

[@lovetoliveandlaugh]

Also...phase out factory farming altogether. It harms the ppl who live nearby, it makes the lives of the animals worse, the conditions can't be good for those who work there either.

[@LeviVillarreal]

*phase out ALL animal agriculture. There is no reason to exploit animals and cause unneeded suffering in modern society

[@LeviVillarreal]

@HunterBidensCrackPipe Not true, raising animals for meat is terribly inefficient, and most plants farmed (at least in the US) go towards animal feed. if animal agriculture didn't exist, we could feed much more people at a significantly lower cost, both economically and environmentally.

[@travisjohnson6558]

@@LeviVillarreal *no reason except for reducing the food shortage while simultaneously improving the soil quality through regenerative agriculture.

[@LeviVillarreal]

@@travisjohnson6558 animal agriculture is usually devastating for the environment, and is currently the main cause for deforestation. Not saying plant agriculture can’t also hurt the environment, but it is definitely much better, plus it doesn’t directly cause animal suffering +death! Also, I’m copying my comment from above, re: food shortage: Not true, raising animals for meat is terribly inefficient, and most plants farmed (at least in the US) go towards animal feed. if animal agriculture didn't exist, we could feed much more people at a significantly lower cost, both economically and environmentally.

[@m2heavyindustries378]

Omg factory farming is bad ppl hashtag go vegan. What a hoot of a comment.

[@ztac_dex]

Imagine living in 2022 and your country never adopted biogas (methane from animal waste) plants

[@farmsim_usa9235]

When Smithfield pays for the installation, I'm all for it.

[@9mmshort254]

Thanks for the arrows in the thumbnail, I didn't know where poop comes from

[@ricardoxavier827]

If the waste be on corporations responsibility, they will centralize all waste and create a fertilizer business. Fertilizer industry, are much more economically efficient to be at corporation scale, than to be local producer scale.

[@cillyhoney1892]

Farmers need to band together and demand that the corporation amends their contracts for the corporation to take care of the waste produced. Also they need more humane conditions for the animals. Living on a concrete floor in a steel box surrounded by fences is no way for any creature to live especially intelligent animals like pigs. They need outdoor space and fresh air and room to move.

[@vvav]

Before watching this video, I'm immediately assuming that it's another case where a business externalizes the costs for society to bear while privatizing the profits. Because THAT'S never happened in the United States before...

[@grendelsmomsboyfriend]

If dogs were kept in conditions such as those pigs are kept in, people would freak out.

[@cpcastar]

Thank you ... They made sure not to address the cruelty of the industry .... it's easy to control waste... stop buying what they are selling... I would bet a huge percentage of the folks complaining ... still buy the products... they want it .. they just don't want it by them...

[@karolinakuc4783]

Pigs despite being inteligent beings don't make good pets. Maybe that's why

[@geekdiggy]

excellent work. i can't wait to find out what the new topic will be!

[@idrissamorehouse5776]

Nicely done -good work -i like the even handed tone - if the state mandated the more costly fix so many pig farms would need the new infrastructure that a big firm could get the whole contract and do it at a profit for themselves but also at a good price because they’d be doing so many contracts they could charge a wholesale price - possible because they could create some sort of easily copi-able template using mostly the same parts and process for most of the locations and that would bring cost down considerably

[@reidclagett4359]

The is one of the many reasons why my family switched from rasing hogs to cattle in the 80's, we had pasture raised hogs for over 30 years but the industry basically made everyone switch to confinement buildings.

[@Maklaka]

It's just incredibly depressing how complicated and intractable the negative externalities of concentrated industrial activity are. Nearly every Vox and Vice News report on the environment and industry can be reduced to that concept. By concentrating industrial activity, we save so much money and share the fruits of that efficiency with the whole nation/globe. Yet, we impart expenses on the local residents that are huge, unwieldy and tragic. The tension between "buy local / expensive" and "Buy cheap / expensive to someone else" is an economic and human reality that seems unsolvable. How can we spread negative externalities more tolerably thin while keeping costs low? What combination of genius and political will can help us achieve that? Is the transition even possible when so many entrenched powerful interests have a bigger say in our world than the general populace? What if the impacted parties are largely (as is often the case) a minority group that the rest of the populace doesn't even care to consider? That's not a coincidence, is it? Yet, are environmental problems reeeeaaally solved much better when white people are impacted? Better, sure, but acceptably better? It's a lot to think about...and it's super demoralizing. It serves to remind us that everything humans do is a shot in the dark. We're all doing our best to primarily benefit ourselves and even if we wanted to do better -- we don't even have the mental capacity to plan ahead and do something right the first time around.

[@stapleman007]

It's not that complicated. If humans live in dense population regions, their waste is treated before the resulting water is dumped into the river / lake. Note that this can actually IMPROVE the river water quality, because the treated water is superior to the natural water. Historical note, this has only started to be done since the 1950's. Same thing applies to hog waste, but no one wants to spend money on solutions, they want the lawsuit money to buy church steeples.

[@vishalgk]

This is a problem I am currently facing , there is a big farm near my neighborhood and they release these waste daily . Right on time for the dinner , the moment you take a bite your house is filled with pig smell and you can not go out now. God there are kids and newborns here. I really hope this problem goes away without any problem for any of the party involved.

[@rudylikestowatch]

Right away I thought of Mad Max:Thunder Dome. SIMPLE. But as the farmer said, bio gas production doesn't eliminate the other environmental issues.

[@prata1019]

BTW, Enteric Fermentation is another name for livestock body processes (so 36% of America's pollution problems are directly a result of animal agriculture).

[@realmountainman]

the chart was for methane emissions not total pollution but you still have a good point

[@TheRealSykx]

apparently a certain kind of seaweed can all but eliminate cow burps (methane) with only ~1% of their diet, hopefully that gets going soon

[@frawich4253]

Whenever I watch videos like this I always think to myself: ok we've got similar problems here in Germany too, but the US just takes these problems and multiply them by ten.... I don't get why they do that though

[@todd1547]

We multiply them by four…because we’re four times bigger. Plus, maybe Germany is not the best country to lecture the world about creating problems? You folks don’t exactly have the best track record.

[@thomaslong8448]

@@todd1547 they now have a higher life expectancy than u.s.

[@goodluck1070]

thanks Vox! i hope the situation will be solved soon

[@xcwoodsonman136]

Love this video and this series! I just have one observation to make in regards to the statement made in the video regarding "how the best way to see the problem, is by flying" - I would argue the best way to see the problem is through GIS. GIS will show you not only the locations of the lagoons, aerial imagery of the sheer massive surface area of a lagoon, but also the FEMA flood zones (which is a big deal) For my maters in GIS project I looked at how vulnerable the lagoons are durring a major storm event in eastern North Carolina. Some of these lagoons were located in FEMA flood zones (proof is in the aerial imagery), these zones represent where the government knows that will be major flooding. When a major storm surge event happens, one compromised lagoon is like dumping a cities worth of sewer directly into primary water sources. I finished this project in 2015, and since then very little has been done to change the mitigation to storm events.

[@todd1547]

Those flood zones were redrawn. Farms weren’t built in flood zones, flood zones were built on farms. Any time the government would like to fairly compensate those producers, I’m sure they’d be happy to shut down.

[@Nardo_stpierre]

I’ve lived in North Carolina my whole life and I didn’t know we where one of the largest producer of pork. I see chicken trucks and chicken farms all the time but I have never seen a big farm. I constantly see Tyson trucks driving around but have never seen Smithfield trucks ever.

[@JohnSmith-eo5sp]

You don't remember that ecological disaster from about twenty years ago when heavy rains overflowed those pigshit lagoons - - and flooded out to the ocean where it caused an algal bloom that killed all the fish in the coastal area? Boy that was a run on sentence :-)

[@Nardo_stpierre]

@@JohnSmith-eo5sp I honestly don’t 😂

[@ksasidhar2980]

the amount of struggles the meat companies make just to make it cheaper than crops, trust me people plants are much more efficient to grow and consume them

[@mikechrys4044]

Those last words are very wise and this is the story with every problem of this nature.

[@GamePlayer775]

We need to talk about/ be more aware of these kind of things for sure

[@hillmanhung3846]

Question, who provided the sprayer? Did the farmers build it themselves or was it supplied to them by some company?

[@zorkmid1083]

Most likely supplied. There are probably vendors who provide this, since there are a lot of pig farms.

[@williambutler1644]

The farmer/contract grower is required to furnish and pay for all of the spray field equipment. Our system at Butler Farms LLC consists of a John Deere 4 cyl diesel-fueled engine, a high-pressure Rainbow pump, (130 to 140 psi @ 180 to 200 gallons per minute), an Irrigation reel with 900 feet 0f 3" hose, 10,000' of underground pipe with outlet hydrants to connect the irrigation reel.

[@createed692]

I searched KZbin with the terms "feces to gas fuel" and got plenty of recent videos on biofuels including one on cattle farm in california

[@tinayoga8844]

Sure. But at what cost? There is no incentive to move to a more expensive option. As has been stated in the program, the site farmer is responsible for the disposal.

[@createed692]

@@tinayoga8844 cost? I am suggesting selling the wastes for money. the high density of farms in the state turns out to be advantageous for a few large fuel plants. collaboration of approximately twenty farms to sell the wastes to one intermediate processing plants(reduce logistics required). and many intermediate processing plants can sell to a final larger fuel plant. a few sets of such processing per state to generate additional income from waste propose this to a banker for financing to get an idea of feasibility

[@boombot934]

Keep the good work! More videos like this, please

[@Advgiovannirusso]

Very good documentary! Congrats to the Vox

[@supersixone9848]

Good solid reporting 👍🏿

[@bw2020]

Decentralized, regenerative agriculture is the answer

[@FowlorTheRooster1990]

Permaculture too.

[@MrJcalvino]

God bless Greg and Salatin

[@grmpEqweer]

Yes. That will produce less meat. ...I actually think a lot of meat isn't healthy for most people.

[@TheRealSykx]

@@grmpEqweer it's not, it increases your risk of heart disease and strokes

[@LilyWinchester]

Doing an essay and using this as one of my sources.

[@Dbrights]

Amazing work with your documentary 🙌🏼. Human as we are today, we're not sustainable 🥲

[@scott.ebusiness]

One solution would be to use a tank to separate the solids and then use the liquid in a hydroponics system. You would have to adapt this solution but as the water only ever touches the root the produce should be safe to eat

[@Fireclaws10]

Hydroponics is expensive

[@scott.ebusiness]

@@Fireclaws10 yes but productive, the initial cost could be the biggest hurdle but interest free loans (either government or from big pork producers) would solve that. In addition it’d provide a lot of employment. Do something along the lines of what the Netherlands does but using hog waste. If it was feasible the biggest issue I’d see would be too much demand for farm labour so it may need to be staggered to allow the labour force to catch up…. Unless unemployment is high in the area and then bingo

[@todd1547]

@@scott.ebusiness the process to separate solids is extraordinarily expensive. Hydroponics is 5-7 times more expensive than conventionally grown food.

[@pteechka1]

Hydroponic crops are not inherently more expensive, but the higher upfront cost means the farmers will concentrate on more valuable crops (strawberry over potato, ex)

[@sskullnox]

Build less of the expensive sludge facilities and build pipeline across all the farms that take the waste to the facilities placed in strategic points. You can build a few at a time and see how it goes.

[@jameshaydel4203]

Read a similar story about this about 40 years ago. Listeria was the problem if i remember correctly, polluting the streams. Nothing changes.

[@RyanBfromNYC]

awesome reporting Vox! i stopped eating red meat a year ago and this video reinforced my reasons for stopping.

[@goodpocky2]

I haven't ate meat in a year now and was literally just thinking of succumbing to eating a bowl of pork ramen... But this reminded me why not to...

[@gaoutaman_]

so many problems with animal agriculture, so much easier to just stop eating/ greatly reduce your animal consumption lol.

[@thesustainableindianjalebi5936]

👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 exactly

[@inkynewt]

I agree with reducing animal consumption (and sourcing as many products from local small farms as possible) but even plant based diets have comparably similar impacts, it's really about deciding where you want your impact. For a shrinking middle class and growing lower class (in North America at least) a partially animal based diet they can afford will often have less impact than the affordable plant based options. When you get into being able to spend more on food, a plant based diet is often the way to go, though.

[@s-statik]

@@inkynewt shut up you don't know what your talking about just go vegan already

[@martinc.720]

How is that “lol” funny?

[@inkynewt]

@@s-statik Yeah maybe think before you speak.

[@robinwallas437]

In the report about hog farm spraying slurry causing health hazzards, they forgot to mention the added chemical toxification of the land, water and food grown on the chem soaked and steralised land.

[@RizeTB1]

Thank you for highlighting this

[@bagasputra8590]

Ahhh… the United States and its love affairs with industrialized farming. Gotta love unethical treatment to animals and environmental degradation.

[@Chimera_166]

Can't keep bacon off them

[@timalexander1811]

It‘s not just the US. It‘s capitalism and efficiency

[@corey2232]

@@timalexander1811 And it's not just capitalism... Look at other economies like in the USSR, it's even worse, as the government needs to find the cheapest/fastest ways to feed their population by any means necessary. Otherwise, widespread famine occurs, resulting in the deaths of millions (again, seen in non-capitalist countries) where government takes over all food production & distribution.

[@sam08g16]

Wikipedia in 2100: "Massive Poop Problem, or MPP, was the leading cause of the mass extinction of 2037, when 98% of the human population..."

[@fibeo2943]

Poopulation... thehee.

[@grmpEqweer]

A shitstorm of tremendous proportions.

[@real.innerfire]

Thx for what you are doing 🙏

[@joseeduardopinacastro5683]

Really liking this series.