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

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).

The factory farm gas industry—backed by major meat and dairy corporations—continues to thrive not because of market demand or climate benefits, but because of government-sponsored greenwashing. What was once sold as a climate solution is increasingly exposed as a thinly veiled subsidy to prop up industrial animal agriculture. And the latest boost comes courtesy of the so-called Big Beautiful Bill.

We were proud to play a part in federal legislation reintroduced today: the Enabling Farmer, Food worker, Environmental, and Climate Targets through Innovative, Values-aligned, and Equitable (EFFECTIVE) Food Procurement Act of 2025. Put forward by Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass) and Congresswoman Alma Adams (NC-12), this legislation would direct and support USDA to leverage billions of dollars to help build a more just, healthy, and sustainable food system.

Costco’s $4.99 rotisserie chicken is an American icon. However, behind the low price lies a hidden story of the company’s chronic salmonella contamination and animal welfare abuses.

Costco routinely violates salmonella contamination standards

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?

Top poultry brands are routinely violating salmonella standards, and USDA is letting them do it.

By analyzing USDA salmonella regulations and inspection records, federal purchasing data for nutrition assistance programs, and humane handling reports, our findings reveal how regulatory failures, industry practices, and government procurement policies together undermine food safety.

Even though USDA organic standards prohibit the use of antibiotics and other synthetic drugs in livestock production, no institution consistently verifies that these substances don’t end up in the final products.