Farm Forward

05/08/2026

Big win for transparency! Alec's ice cream just dropped sustainability & welfare marketing after we put pressure on them. We uncovered abuse and deception by their supplier Alexandre dairy and Alec's now has to admit their marketing was deceptive https://farmforward.com/news/when-transparency-wins/

05/05/2026

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.

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.

05/01/2026

The House just passed a Farm Bill that includes the so-called “Save Our Bacon Act,” a dangerous attempt to undo hard-won state protections for farmed animals.

Despite the name, this bill has nothing to do with helping family farmers or food security. It would override voter-approved laws banning some of the cruelest factory farming practices, including gestation crates for pigs, battery cages for hens, and veal crates for calves.

The bill heads to the Senate next, where there's still time to stop this rollback of progress. Tell your lawmakers to oppose these cruel bills now:

The Food Security and Farm Protection Act is a dangerous bill that was just introduced in the U.S. Senate. Despite its new name, this bill is identical to the dangerous Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act from last Congress. Please urge your federal lawmakers to oppose this bill.

04/28/2026

Surveys have shown that regardless of one's personal diet, the vast majority of people oppose common animal agriculture practices. So why doesn't our farming system reflect these values?

Read more here: https://ourworldindata.org/most-people-care-about-farm-animals-our-food-system-doesnt-reflect-that

04/22/2026

Iowa, along with the rest of the Midwest, is making a bad bet on factory farm gas (FFG). FFG, also known as "manure biogas," is being sold as clean energy. It's not. It's a fossil fuel industry scheme that props up the worst of industrial animal agriculture and locks millions of animals into a lifetime of extreme confinement.

Here's what's actually happening: Iowa raised animal capacity limits for farms with digesters and pollution went up, not down. The "One Big Beautiful Bill" extended FFG tax credits through 2029 while gutting wind & solar. Major FFG projects have already failed and defaulted on federal loans.

Iowa has 2,800 potential FFG sites that, if built out, millions more animals could be locked into factory farms for decades. This isn't clean energy. It's a subsidy for Big Ag and fossil fuel companies to protect their profits.

We're calling on legislators to end subsidies for factory farm gas, help farmers transition away from industrial confinement, and redirect public dollars toward real food system reform.

Learn more here:

Iowa, along with the rest of the Midwest, is making a bad bet on factory farm gas (FFG). The state is at the center of a national push by fossil fuel companies and meat and dairy companies to expand FFG, also known as “manure biogas.” This gas is produced in large sealed tanks called anaerobic d...

04/20/2026

Fish farming has been marketed as a climate-smart choice but the science tells a different story.

A new analysis exposes how the aquaculture industry built its "sustainable" reputation on carefully crafted industry narratives, not peer-reviewed evidence. Hidden emissions, destruction of carbon sinks, and misleading consumer messaging are part of the story that gets left out.

Industrial aquaculture now supplies over half the world's seafood. That influence comes with a responsibility to be honest about its true costs.

Read the full breakdown here:

Fish farming markets itself as a climate-smart food system, but evidence shows it carries hidden emissions, destroys carbon sinks, and misleads consumers

04/16/2026

The USDA has extended its pause on federal loans for anaerobic digesters—projects that turn factory farm waste into gas—through the end of 2026, citing “persistent and escalating concerns,” including high delinquency rates and financial instability.

It’s a step in the right direction... but not for the right reasons. This pause wasn’t driven by concern for animals, communities, or pollution; it was driven by financial risk. And it’s only temporary.

Manure digesters don’t solve the problems of factory farming, they depend on them. By requiring massive amounts of waste, they incentivize larger, more crowded operations while locking in pollution. If USDA is serious about protecting rural communities, taxpayers, and the environment, it should end support for factory farm gas projects altogether.

Read more here:

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) extended its moratorium on loans for anaerobic digesters — many of which are issued for large-scale farms that turn animal waste into gas — through the end of 2026 due to “persistent and escalating concerns.”

04/15/2026

Costco is now pushing back in court against claims of salmonella risk in their $5 rotisserie chicken.

As a reminder, our research is at the heart of this class-action case against Costco. Farm Forward's analysis found that Costco's Lincoln Premium Poultry plant in Nebraska has received a USDA Category 3 rating (the failing grade) 92% of the time since opening in 2019, yet the company continues selling over 157 million rotisserie chickens a year.

Costco can push back all they want. The data speaks for itself.

Read more:

Costco argues its chicken is fully cooked, which kills salmonella bacteria.

04/10/2026

Panera Bread built its brand around no antibiotics ever, 100% pasture-raised steak, and humanely sourced ingredients. Consumers paid a premium for that story. Then, quietly, the standards changed.

According to a recent Reuters investigation, Panera loosened its animal welfare and ingredient commitments, shaving an estimated $21 million off its annual costs. All without clearly communicating these changes to customers.

Last month, Animal Outlook filed a consumer protection lawsuit on behalf of Food Animal Concerns Trust against Panera and its parent company, JAB Holding Company. The complaint alleges that Panera didn't just fall short of its standards; it systematically failed to uphold them, all while continuing to market itself as a responsible, humane choice. This is humanewashing clear as day. Kudos to Animal Outlook for holding them accountable.

Read more here:

Our Legal Advocacy Program has been working since 2004 to use the legal system as a powerful tool to fight the systemic injustices of factory farming.

04/08/2026

On April 15, people around the world are speaking out.

Public development banks must stop financing factory farming and support sustainable food systems instead.

Join the call to .

Learn more and get involved: s3f.info/gdoa2026

04/03/2026

A new investigation links pollution from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) to higher cancer risks in North Carolina, Iowa, and Nebraska. These industrial facilities generate massive amounts of waste, releasing harmful chemicals into the air and water and exposing nearby residents to dangerous pollutants every day. CAFOs are heavily concentrated in rural areas, where communities often have fewer resources to push back against powerful agribusiness interests.

Read the full article here:

People living near concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, in California, Texas and Iowa suffer from higher rates of cancer, suggesting that the air and water pollution from the massive farms may be playing a role, according to a new study.