Factory farms pose an ongoing threat to Iowa’s waterways. Raw, untreated hog sewage can contaminate waterways through field runoff, spills, and cracks in confinement pits.

Many governmental and health organizations point to the overuse of antibiotics in industrial livestock production as a significant factor in the antibiotic resistance crisis we face.

Factory farms are unnatural environments for livestock. The close, cramped quarters prevent animals from exhibiting natural behaviors and instead create high levels of stress and suffering.

Iowa state law provides factory farmers with a property tax exemption for their confinement pit, calling it a “pollution control device.”

There are many differences between traditional, independent family farms that raise livestock outdoors and factory farms that confine animals their entire lives.

Neighbors living near factory farms often experience noxious odors, swarms of flies, and dust that drive them indoors and make it difficult to enjoy their homes and property.