Local communities nationwide are stopping factory farms

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Thanks to your continued support, last year we were able to help nearly 50 communities threatened by industrial livestock operations in some two dozen U.S. states. 

Despite the many challenges, we closed out 2023 strong with big wins in Missouri, Indiana, and Oregon. 

Our friends in Steuben County, Indiana, and Cooper County, Missouri, successfully stopped massive factory farms from setting up shop in their communities. In Oregon, the passing of Senate Bill 85 allowed residents in Linn County to enact a one-mile setback from a neighboring residential property line to any CAFO.

These wins are huge—and we could not have achieved them without you. 

Your generous donations made to our year-end giving campaign bolstered our efforts and the vital resources needed to better support rural communities and small family farmers and ranchers on the front lines of industrial animal agriculture. 

Our priorities for 2024 aim to better serve communities of color and low-income communities, which we know are disproportionately impacted by factory farms.

We will expand the Water Rangers program throughout the Midwest to help more communities protect their right to clean water, and assist and encourage more contract growers to leave the industrial agriculture system, enter sustainable careers, and advocate for socially responsible food systems. 

We also will strengthen movement building through the Food & Farm Network by fostering participation in state, regional, and national coalitions. 

We are looking forward to a bright year ahead with many more community wins. If you or someone you know is facing an industrial livestock operation, contact us today. 

 

‘You Are What You Eat’

A new Netflix documentary called, You Are What You Eat, features one of SRAP’s very own. Craig Watts, director of the Contract Grower Transition Program, makes an appearance in episodes three and four, where he shares his experience as a former contract poultry grower and how he broke free of the exploitative system. 

Craig, who once raised chickens for Perdue Farms, now uses his old poultry barns to grow mushrooms. The documentary, which compares the health benefits of an omnivore to a vegan diet, warns about the abuses factory farms have on people, animals, and the planet, and how knowing where your food comes from empowers consumers to make better choices. 

WATCH You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment | Official Trailer | Netflix

 

‘Community Stops Slaughterhouse’ 

A community in Polk County, Missouri, came together and stopped a slaughterhouse from dumping hundreds of thousands of gallons of wastewater into an already polluted southwest Missouri river. The meatpacker’s attempt to pollute the Pomme de Terre River was shut down thanks to the efforts of concerned residents who decided to take action and protect their right to clean water. 

READ Missouri Community Unites to Stop Slaughterhouse From Polluting Local Waterways

 

Free Illinois Water Rangers Training! 

Are you in Illinois and interested in learning how to monitor your water for pollutants? If so, the upcoming water quality monitoring training on February 15 at 6:30 p.m. CST is for you! Attendees will learn about the adverse impacts of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in Illinois and how to monitor your water for pollution caused by industrial livestock operations. The free virtual training will provide tips on how to identify pollution with easy-to-use test strips and use that data to hold CAFOs accountable. Click here for more information on Water Rangers training.

REGISTER 2.15.24 Water Rangers General Training Illinois

 

For more than 20 years, SRAP has served as a mobilizing force to help communities protect themselves from the damages caused by industrial livestock operations and to advocate for a food system built on regenerative practices, justice, democracy, and resilience. Learn more at sraproject.org