We're banning factory farms in Berkeley. LEARN MORE.
NO MORE
FACTORY
FARMS
We write to you from a wide array of backgrounds and movements with a united concern about the devastating impacts of factory farms and slaughterhouses in our state.
Animal agriculture is responsible for 38% of methane emissions in the United States. The mega-dairies of California keep thousands of cows in close confinement, which creates vast amounts of greenhouse gas emissions and terrible air quality in surrounding areas.
The widespread application of chemical fertilizers and dairy cow manure have also contributed to an ongoing water crisis. Over one million Californians, mostly in farmworker communities in California’s Central Valley, lack access to clean water. Communities and environmental groups have filed numerous lawsuits against the EPA and factory farm dairies in the region.
Chickens collapsed and starving to death, emaciated baby cows languishing in their own diarrhea, and pigs regaining consciousness after stunning and waking up while bleeding out on the slaughter line, a violation of the USDA’s regulations for humane handling and of California penal code 597, which makes it a crime to subject any animal to needless suffering.
COVID-19 is only one example in a long history of human-animal interactions leading to pandemic disease. H5N1 has a 60% mortality rate for humans. In July 2020, the CDC reported on H1N1 swine influenza viruses that have “the essential hallmarks of being highly adapted to infect humans.” A 2020 investigation of Yosemite Foods, a meatpacking plant in Stockton, CA, found reports of pneumonia and peritonitis.
UFCW Local 770 called for the immediate closure of the Smithfield-owned Farmer John meatpacking plant in Vernon, CA, saying there was no evidence that measures taken to control the coronavirus were working.
THIS IS NOT RIGHT
The state has directly funded the expansion of Big Ag, including contributing two million dollars to the construction of Yosemite Foods slaughterhouse in Stockton where DxE documented criminal animal cruelty. Now, it's time for a change.
High-profile presidential candidates (Sanders, Warren, Castro, Gabbard) have supported a ban on new factory farms even in rural states like Iowa. Federal agencies have failed to hold factory farms accountable, but California can catalyze the change we need and set a precedent for other states – and the world – to follow.
We are calling on California legislators to pass a moratorium on the expansion or construction of new factory farms and slaughterhouses in the state, as a first step to phasing out these destructive facilities entirely.
Sign the letter to help us put a moratorium on factory farming in California
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In response to the No More Factory Farms coalition campaign, in February 2022, California Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian introduced Assembly Bill 2764 to enact a moratorium on the construction and expansion of commercial animal feeding operations and slaughterhouses in California, along with joint author Assemblymember Alex Lee. However, the bill ultimately died without a hearing following opposition from the Assembly Agriculture Committee, which would have voted on the bill.
In the short-lived campaign around AB 2764, thousands of Californians took action to support the bill, including around 1,000 constituents of the agriculture committee members who mailed postcards to their representatives urging a yes vote. Over 130 activists gathered at the State Capitol to rally for AB 2764 in March 2022.
Over 160 organizations submitted official letters of support for AB 2764. Celebrities like Anjelica Huston and Alicia Silverstone supported the bill, too, and a series of powerful op-eds were published in California’s largest newspapers!
- Susana Soto, SF Chronicle
- Karen Rubio, Mercury News
- Alexandra Paul, The Business Journal
- Crystal Heath, The Fresno Bee
- Carla Cabral, The Sacramento Bee
Although AB 2764 never reached a vote, it still pushed the No More Factory Farms campaign into the spotlight. State legislators discussed the bill on social media and in the press. California showed its support. The momentum is building to transform our food system away from cruelty, disease, and climate chaos. Let’s keep working to create a future that protects animals, workers, public health, and the planet we all share.