8 Disgusting Facts About Hog Poop

It’s not just the stink: Those who live near factory hog farms report headaches, coughing, wheezing, and diarrhea.


Manure isn’t supposed to smell good. But people living near hog farms complain of unbearable stenches that affect their health and essentially keep them prisoners in their own homes. The Environmental Protection Agency does not regulate manure odor, and neither do most states. In the May/June 2014 issue of Mother Jones, Bridget Huber writes about two attorneys bringing odor nuisance suits against Big Pork—and winning their hog stink-affected clients at least $32 million to date.

So just how much poop are we talking about here? And what’s it really like to be neighbors with a factory hog farm? A few facts to keep in mind:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read more Mother Jones coverage of mysterious exploding poop foam.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And the essential ingredient that makes all this possible? Readers like you.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to devote the time and resources to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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