For many of us, the idea of a dairy farm may evoke bucolic images of cows grazing peacefully on acres of green, rolling pasture.
But the reality of U.S. dairy production is making these images increasingly obsolete. In recent years, hundreds of thousands of small pasture-based dairies have disappeared, their production replaced by CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations)—crowded industrial facilities that use methods linked to a variety of health and environmental problems, from antibiotic resistance to "dead zones" in coastal waterways.
Reversing this trend, and promoting healthier, less damaging ways to satisfy our demand for dairy products, should be a policy priority.
In this report
Explainer
The Food and Farm Bill
The massive piece of legislation commonly referred to as the “farm bill” should really be called the “food and farm bill” because of its key role in how we eat.
Feature
Fugitive Methane Emissions
Methane leaks from natural gas drilling sites and pipelines. These fugitive methane emissions are 34 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat.
Explainer
What is Sustainable Agriculture?
There’s a transformation taking place on farms across the United States.
Downloads
Related resources
Activist Resource
How Long Has The Farm Bill Been Expired?
Congress has let the once-every-five years food and farm bill expire—but the 332 million people in the US still need to eat.
Podcast
Food Fight
Food justice activist and writer Rae Gomes joins Jess to talk about what we get wrong about food in the United States, and what we can do to make things right.
Report
Waste Deep
Water pollutants from Tyson Foods' meat processing plants pose a risk to both people and the environment.
Explainer
What’s Wrong with Fossil Fuel–Based Fertilizer?
Massive overapplication of nitrogen fertilizer in agriculture damages soil, causes pollution, and contributes to climate change.