Farm Forward

Last month, the House passed a Farm Bill containing a provision alarming to all who care about animal welfare or states' rights. The so-called "Save Our Bacon Act” would strip states of the right to set their own animal welfare standards and could override more than 600 state laws across the country covering animal welfare, food safety, and disease control.

If enough constituents speak up, the Save Our Bacon provision can be stripped from the bill before it ever reaches the Senate floor. Sign the petition now:

Tell Your Senators: Vote Against Any Farm Bill With the Save Our Bacon Act! The “Save Our Bacon Act” sounds harmless—but it’s a federal preemption clause quietly tucked into the House Farm Bill that would gut more than 600 state laws co...

The federal government has extended its pause on loans for manure digesters, the method of converting animal manure from large-scale feeding operations into biogas. USDA cited high delinquency rates and financial losses.

But the deeper question is are digesters actually a climate solution or an expensive subsidy that's making factory farming worse?

The industry says digesters can cut manure methane emissions by up to 80%. California has spent nearly $300 million promoting them and points to real emissions reductions. However, critics aren't buying it.

Andrew deCoriolis, executive director of Farm Forward, told Inside Climate News that the evidence increasingly shows digesters are driving factory farm expansion, not reining it in and that in most cases, the gas itself isn't economically viable without public subsidies and carbon credits backing it up.

A new Stanford study backs this up, finding digester incentives are spurring large farms to get even bigger. In Iowa, after a law lifted animal caps at farms with digesters, animal numbers at permitted sites jumped 23%.

And the communities living nearest to these operations (often communities of color) report ammonia pollution, water contamination, and serious health effects. One North Carolina digester breached in 2022, dumping 10,000 gallons of waste into a swamp. The company later went into foreclosure.

Read more here:

USDA Extends Pause on Loans for Controversial Digesters That Turn Manure Into Biogas - Inside Climate News Anaerobic digester loans showed “significant delinquency rates,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture said, while environmental groups see the technology driving an expansion of large-scale animal farming operations.

The House just passed a Farm Bill containing the so-called "Save Our Bacon Act," a provision that would strip states of the right to set their own animal welfare standards and override more than 600 state agricultural laws across the country.

At stake are California's Prop 12 and Massachusetts' Question 3, which guarantee farm animals basic space to move. Farmers who invested in compliance with these laws could see their investments wiped out overnight.

As our executive director, Andrew deCoriolis, put it: "It is extremely disappointing to see this get past the Republican House given the major implications for states' rights. I think this shows the power of the pork lobby."

The battle now heads to the Senate. Stay tuned for updates and contact your senator to let them know where you stand.

Controversial Farm Bill measure targeting state animal laws heads to Senate showdown Animal welfare advocates are preparing for a fight in the US Senate where the new Farm Bill will be taken up in the next couple months, bringing with it a contentious provision that would undo state measures to protect livestock.