Public Health and Pandemics

California’s worst air pollution is concentrated in the same counties as its factory farms. The industry gets public subsidies to keep it that way.

Farm Forward argues that salmonella in poultry is a system-wide food safety issue driven by poor animal welfare across the supply chain, urging the USDA to expand regulation beyond slaughterhouses and implement stronger, upstream reforms.

Farm Forward’s recent report cited in support of class action lawsuit against Costco for misleading labeling.

USDA knowingly purchase contaminated chicken products for nutrition assistance programs, including the School Lunch Program.

Farm Forward testifies to USDA bout the impact of dangerous levels of salmonella contamination in the US poultry industry.

This Thanksgiving, the cost of putting turkey on the table is going up, thanks not just to inflation or supply chain issues, but to the ongoing bird flu epidemic ravaging U.S. factory farms and the failure of both government and industry to control it.

Thanksgiving is supposed to be a time of warmth, gratitude, and home-cooked meals shared around the table—not a trip to the emergency room. Yet the turkey at the center of America’s favorite holiday may come with a hidden danger: salmonella.

Consider the raw chicken you pick up at the grocery store for dinner. It might be one of many packages that the CDC says could be contaminated with Salmonella.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service—the federal agency tasked with protecting the public from foodborne illness—is failing in its mandate by allowing high rates of Salmonella contamination to enter the national food supply.

Some of the most recognizable chicken and poultry brands sell products from slaughter and processing plants that fail USDA’s salmonella standards, allowing large volumes of contaminated meat to enter the food supply. How can you tell?

The agricultural industry has created a two-tiered pollution system, where California’s cattle feedlots can cause premature deaths through air pollution without facing the same environmental oversight that applies to every other major polluting industry.

Tariffs may be headline-grabbing, they can distract from a deeper issue: many countries simply don’t want U.S. meat because of how it’s produced.

In April 2025, consumers experienced a slight relief in egg prices, sparking widespread discussions. Despite the welcomed decrease, prices remain at historic highs. The question on everyone’s mind is, why? The answer lies in the persistent presence of bird flu.

The overuse of antibiotics in industrial animal agriculture is a major driver of the antimicrobial resistance crisis—and yet, meat companies and U.S. regulatory agencies have repeatedly failed to act.

Three years into the outbreak and amidst outrageous increases in egg prices, the United States Department of Agriculture continues to make dangerous payouts to big companies and delay corrective action.

While inflation has impacted all food categories, two significant factors have disproportionately driven up animal product prices: the devastating impact of avian influenza, and systematic price manipulation by major meat producers.

Farm Forward is deeply alarmed by the first bird flu death recorded in the United States. The federal government must act to get the outbreak under control.

Farm Forward has long warned that industrial farming practices are a major driver of zoonotic diseases. Recent bird flu cases in humans underscore the urgent need for meaningful action.

The government is freaking us out on bird flu. It’s not what they’re saying—it’s what they are not saying.

A USDA testing program finds that at least 20 percent of tested cattle samples labeled “raised without antibiotics” or “no antibiotics ever” tested positive for antibiotics. USDA buries findings and reports no punitive action.

Antimicrobial Resistance is an increasing threat to human and animal health. Solving the problem requires significant reforms to agricultural policy and industrial animal farming practices. Yet, the largest international One Health programs largely fail to acknowledge industrial animal farming as a key threat to the One Health mission.

Even as the seriousness of the bird flu outbreak increases, the government refuses to address the underlying cause: factory farming.

An investigation by Farm Forward and Our Honor, covered by The New York Times, shows how the federal government has allocated hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars to poultry companies like Tyson and Hormel for bird flu outbreak losses, despite these companies’ factory farming practices being linked to the outbreaks.

Farm Forward submitted a comment to the CDC and HHS we consider critical for addressing zoonotic disease and public health preparedness: factory farming creates perfect petri dishes for endemic and emergent zoonotic diseases. Deintensifying existing poultry and pig farming—while placing a moratorium on new factory farm construction—is the public health measure that would most dramatically reduce the risk of the next pandemic virus. 

The high price of eggs is just one outcome of bird flu. Far more worrying is the possibility that the disease could adapt to human bodies and lead to the next global pandemic. Though eating chicken or eggs is unlikely to lead to illness, experts agree that the pandemic risk of avian flu is real, stemming largely from the way birds are raised on factory farms and the particular breeds of birds that have come to dominate the supply chain.

Bird flu is making global headlines. As an H5N1 outbreak ravages the U.S. poultry industry and egg prices reach record highs, scientists are ringing alarm bells that the virus could soon enter a new, more dangerous phase of its evolution.

Farm Forward welcomed the World Health Organization (WHO) Intergovernmental Negotiating Body’s recent request for public guidance on the question, “What substantive elements do you think should be included in a new international instrument on pandemic preparedness and response?” 

While COVID-19 may have emerged from a wet market, the greater pandemic risk is our insatiable appetite for cheap, factory farmed meat.

Brandon Keim, a freelance journalist writing a speculative fiction piece for Anthropocene magazine about how to prevent zoonoses, asked Farm Forward how to create a future free of pandemics and factory farms. 

Industrial poultry farms are infamous for the commonly known “bird flu”, yet agribusiness continues being the breeding ground for pandemics.

This week in response to the Trump Administration’s April 28th announcement that it would invoke the Defense Production Act to compel meatpacking companies to stay open during the pandemic, Farm Forward joined nearly 100 food, labor, and environmental allies to show broad support for frontline foodworkers.  

USDA proposed harmful inspection rules that we have a chance to stop! Learn more about the rules and how you can make a difference here.

An interview with industry insiders exposing the dangers of the ineffective CAFO management on the floodplains of North Carolina. See images..

Global conference to address climate crises chose a meat-heavy menu equivalent of burning more than 500,000 gallons of gasoline. Learn more.

Large factory farm and polluter conducting illegal activities making citizens sick continues business as usual. Learn more.