According to the ruling by a federal court, a jury was correct in holding Smithfield Farms responsible for causing a nuisance in a local community around its pig farms.

Neighbors of the 15,000 pigs owned by Smithfield alleged that their lives were unbearable due to the stench, loud noises, and flies that were part of the neighborhood.

Elsie Herring told North Carolina Health News she was “thrilled” by the decision and has been fighting the company since the 1990s. “It’s been long overdue … and is a glimmer of hope that maybe this is the road that will bring about some sustainable change that makes living in our homes enjoyable again, which is how it should be,” Herring said. “Your home is your castle.”

Judge James Harvie Wilkinson III wrote that “animal welfare and human welfare, far from advancing at cross-purposes, are actually integrally connected,” in his opinion. Later, he noted, “It is well-established — almost to the point of judicial notice — that environmental harms are visited disproportionately upon the dispossessed—here on minority populations and poor communities.”

And read more about recent updates on factory farming including Antibiotic Resistance in Humans Tied to Factory Farms and We’re Eating Sick Animals and Getting Deadly Diseases Because the USDA Won’t Uphold Basic Welfare Standards in Slaughterhouses.

Read more about factory farms and their destruction in One Green Planet:

• 5 Ways Factory Farming Is Killing the Environment
• Battery Hen Reaching to See Light in Her Cramped Cage Shows the Realities of Factory Farming
• This New Documentary Will Change How the World Sees Factory Farming Forever (VIDEO)
• The Important Lesson About Factory Farming We Can Learn From 31 Rescued Ducklings
• 200 Health and Science Experts Have a Very Powerful Message About Factory Farming
• Why Factory Farming Is a Broken System Where Extreme Animal Cruelty and Abuse Is the Norm
• How Genetic Manipulation in Factory Farms Impacts Chickens: The Story of Louise the Rescued Hen
• Costco Sets Up Massive Chicken Slaughterhouse in the Midst of an Environmental Crisis
• Turkeys Found Living in Filthy, Dangerous Conditions at Major Factory Food Chain
• Battery Hen Reaching to See Light in Her Cramped Cage Shows the Realities of Factory Farming

Sign this petition to demand that IFC divest from factory farming, and invest in humane, sustainable practices.

You can avoid contributing to such cruelty and environmental degradation by reducing your dairy and meat consumption. Eating more plant-based foods is known to help with chronic inflammation, heart health, mental wellbeing, fitness goals, nutritional needs, allergies, gut health, and more! Dairy consumption also has been linked to many health problems, including acne, hormonal imbalance, cancer, prostate cancer and has many side effects. Interested in joining the dairy-free and meatless train?

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