Farm Forward, joined by Friends of the Earth, Earthjustice, and more than 30 allied organizations, filed a petition calling on USDA to make anaerobic digesters at industrial animal operations ineligible for funding from the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).
Anaerobic digesters capture factory farm gas (FFG) from the massive waste cesspools at industrial animal operations. This gas is then branded as “renewable natural gas” and sold under a green veneer as a supposed climate solution.
When REAP was established, it had the noble goal of investing in renewable energy and strengthening rural economies across the country. While some of the REAP funding goes to valuable products such as on-farm solar, tens of millions in taxpayer funds are going to some of the largest meat and dairy companies to install digesters at industrial animal operations, further entrenching factory farming.
This petition adds to a growing body of evidence (including Farm Forward’s 2025 report) showing that FFG subsidies function as a reverse Robin Hood scheme by funneling public dollars to the largest, most polluting operations while failing to deliver on environmental benefits.
While it fails to deliver climate benefits, FFG is also objectionable because of the green branding and perverse incentives for expanding the factory farm model. Every digester project marketed as “renewable energy” is another reason to add more animals, produce more waste, and lock in a system that has failed rural communities for decades.
When it comes to helping the climate, there are a slate of better alternatives to FFG on offer. We should move our attention towards those and away from a model that doubles down on and necessitates vast pollution and runaway emissions.