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We begin our story in Duplin County, often known throughout North Carolina as the heart of hog country. More hogs than human beings, an estimated nearly 2 million last count, Duplin County has become synonymous with concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). (Milman, 2018) It's here that the documentary 'The Smell of Money' uncovers the truth of living downstream of open-air waste lagoons and spray fields. The stench is described as sickening, all-encompassing, what becomes a living entity, haunting people's homes and smothering their porches. This county is home to individuals who've been protesting against local CAFOs for generations, challenging corporate giants like Smithfield Foods, all while questioning their practices, and demanding that they have a right to clean air, clean water, and dignified living standards.

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Photo Credit: Right to Harm Documentary, 2019

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Wallace is a tiny Duplin County town and the residence of activist Elsie Herring, whose family land was situated adjacent to a spray field. Every day mist from liquified hog manure rained down on them. It covered their cars, poisoned their flower beds, and even turned sitting on the front porch into a health hazard.

Elsie Herring grew up in Duplin County, a place now saturated with more than a few thousand CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations.) Her family's property, had been in their hands for nearly a century, before nearby swine plants started spraying liquefied waste into the air just yards from her house. Horrified at what it was doing to her health and to her community, Elsie struck back. It was in a petition that gained over 92,000 signatures that she called on the EPA to investigate what she and many others saw as environmental racism. She became a prominent member of the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network, organizing her neighbors and bringing national spotlight attention to the CAFO crisis. (Right to Harm, 2019)

Elsie was calling on the agency to formally acknowledge that the state had failed to protect communities of color from the hazards of industrialized agriculture. Her story was the stepping stone and ultimate catalyst for national awareness. But, this did not come easy, legislators often dismissed Elsie due to not only her racial background, but for simply speaking up. (Right to Harm, 2019) (The Smell of Money, 2022)

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“It’s like putting the population of three or four New York Cities, 30 to 40 million people, in eastern North Carolina with no sewer system.” - Steve Neal and Tom Lambeth, Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation

To the west of Duplin lies Sampson County, facing similar issues due to CAFOs. The same tactics used in Duplin, including zoning manipulation, political lobbying, and environmental neglect, are mirrored here. The conditions persist despite years of outcry.

One of the only legal tools residents of Sampson and Duplin can use against big corps like Smithfield are nuisance claims, which do little in the face of what blatantly looks like environmental degradation in already marginalized areas/populations. These charges and legal battles have been going on for years, often with little to no avail due to political lobbying and corprate influence. Legislature also reserves he right to roll these nuisance claims back, stripping these communities of any legal protections for their land and families.

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Home of the World’s Largest Pork Processing Plant

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Home of the World’s Largest Pork Processing Plant

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Started in '92 and operated by Smithfield farms, Tar Heel, NC is home to the world's largest pork processing plant. This plant not only hold world records for its sheer size and processing capacity, but of its overall value to North Carolinian economy. The plant functions not only as a major employer for the surrounding area, with over 5,000 active positions, but also as an area of contestation.

This processing plant functions as a crossroads in a broader battle for workers' rights, environmental justice, and rural community health. For decades, the factory workers (largely immigrants and people of color) have been complaining of abusive working conditions, intimidation during unionization efforts, and dangerous processing speeds. Simultaneously, the plant is inextricably linked with the surrounding web of hog CAFOs, generating enormous amounts of waste that are typically inadequately managed, polluting surrounding air, water, and land.

Historically marginalized populations and people of color have not only worked in these kinds of plants because of a lack of other employment opportunities in their area, but suffer long term with the health consequences that affect them from working and living near these facilities. CAFOs and processing plants not only exacerbate existing issues that affect certain groups disproportionately, but ultimately contribute to the longevity of these vicious cycles.

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“North Carolinians... pressured their legislators to do something about the environmental hazards of large hog operations — pressured them so much, in fact, that legislators had to act against the wishes of pro-hog lobbyists...” — News & Observer Editorial, October 22, 1997

The capital, Raleigh, and its role in being the hub that processes many of the legal proceedings involving companies, small farm owners and nearby community has been uncanny int he outcomes that have come about. Farm bills that allow residents of areas near CAFOs or other farming operations to file nuisance claims or the shift of some companies to find ways to treat the manure and produced by their livestock showcases a shift towards a brighter future.

Places where action and reaction are present, allow voices to be heard and they are also places where these same voices can be shut down and turned away. Many voices that have called for legislative action against unsustainable hog farming techniques have also gone unnoticed in the decades past and with little to no government involvement, it becomes harder to fix the issue from its root.

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At UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke, researchers and public health experts have been instrumental in documenting the health impacts of hog CAFOs. Collaboration from even outside of the state on issues including manure lagoon flooding during hurricanes Matthew and Florence, chemical levels in ground water/soil an health impacts on nearby populations has revealed a plethora of important data that backs the claims of the residents and activists of the areas impacted by CAFOs.

Living near industrial meat facilities in North Carolina comes with serious environmental and health consequences. Communities close to these hog concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) often contend with polluted air, water, and soil. Studies have also linked proximity to these sites with increased respiratory issues and higher risks of life-threatening illnesses. (Graddy et al., 2020)

In a 2018 study conducted by Duke University, researchers found that residents in areas with a high concentration of industrial swine farms faced elevated death rates from conditions such as anemia, kidney disease, sepsis, and tuberculosis. These areas also reported higher overall mortality and infant death rates than other parts of the state. An earlier investigation revealed that children attending schools near livestock farms experienced more frequent asthma symptoms and wheezing. (Graddy et al., 2020)

Institutions like universities and local governments function as the backbone of some resistance efforts, however it is also important to recognize that these institutions can do a lot to manipulate and censor resistance.

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Durham's role in amplifying local movements has not fallen short when it comes to wanting to enact change for those living near the hog farms in North Carolina.

In fact, many documentaries like 'The Smell of Money' have been screened on various occasions to provide a platform to uplift these voices on. This is vital in the continued challenges people in marginalized communities have in having their voices be heard.

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Photo Credit: Grant Heilman Photography/Alamy

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WH Group - Foreign Intersections on American Farmland

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WH Group - Foreign Intersections on American Farmland

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One of the largest foreign takeovers was WH Group's purchase of the Smithfield company. This $7.1 billion purchase sparked controversy across the country, given both Smithfield and WH Group's stained track record of CAFO operations, chemical leaching and other coverups. With the Chinese company now owning a multi-billion dollar industry in the U.S. a large number of the operations remain under the control of foreign negligence. (Clark, 2018)

This ultimately makes the burden of living in places where plants and operations are, almost too big to carry. “To have a Chinese food company controlling a major U.S. meat supplier, without shareholder accountability, is a bit concerning,” said Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley. “A safe and sustainable food supply is critical to national security. How might this deal impact our national security?”

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1. The Guardian
Milman, O. (2018, May 24). ‘It’s wrong to stink up other people’s lives’: Fighting the manure lagoons of North Carolina. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/24/pig-farm-agriculture-its-wrong-to-stink-up-other-peoples-lives-fighting-the-manure-lagoons-of-north-carolina

2. John Ikerd
Ikerd, J. (n.d.). A tribute to Elsie Herring. John Ikerd. https://www.johnikerd.com/factory-farmscafos/a-tribute-to-elsie-herring

3. Democracy NC
Democracy North Carolina. (n.d.). North Carolina’s hog industry: A history of political influence. https://democracync.org/reports/researchreports/Hog%20Money/nchogindustryhistory.html

4. Waterkeeper Alliance
Waterkeeper Alliance. (2021, October 13). Update: Exposing fields of filth. https://waterkeeper.org/news/update-exposing-fields-of-filth/

5. North Carolina Health News
Newsome, S. (2021, October 29). Legal battles over pollution from hog waste, environmental racism haven’t changed much. North Carolina Health News. https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2021/10/29/legal-battles-over-pollution-from-hog-waste-environmental-racism-havent-changed-much/

6. The Counter
Bailey, J. (2021, November 9). USDA gives final approval for faster hog line speeds at pork processing plants. The Counter. https://thecounter.org/usda-final-approval-faster-hog-line-speeds-pork-processing/

7. North Carolina Health News
Hoban, R. (2018, June 26). Hog farm bill fight continues in NC legislature. North Carolina Health News. https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2018/06/26/hog-farm-bill-fight/

8. Duke Health
Duke Health. (2018, May 3). NC residents living near large hog farms have elevated disease, death risks. https://corporate.dukehealth.org/news/nc-residents-living-near-large-hog-farms-have-elevated-disease-death-risks

9. MIT Climate Portal
MIT Climate. (2023, March 13). Unchecked growth of industrial animal farms spurs long fight for environmental justice in eastern NC. https://climate.mit.edu/posts/unchecked-growth-industrial-animal-farms-spurs-long-fight-environmental-justice-eastern-nc

10. Rolling Stone
Levin, M. (2018, June 5). Why is China treating North Carolina like the developing world? Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/why-is-china-treating-north-carolina-like-the-developing-world-122892/

11. The Smell of Money
Bannon, S. (Director), & Berger, J. (Producer). (2022). The Smell of Money [Documentary film]. The Unreasonable / Beyond The Pines.

12. Right to HarmSpeicher, A., & Wechsler, M. (Directors). (2019). Right to Harm [Documentary film]. Hourglass Films.

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Unchecked growth of industrial animal farms spurs long fight for environmental justice in Eastern NC

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This story by ESI Journalism Fellow Melba Newsome was originally published for North Carolina Health News, where it appears with additional photos and resources. __________ On a Sunday evening in July, about 30 residents from around Sampson County gathered at Byrd’s Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Rose Hill, about 20 miles from the county seat of Clinton, to hear about a soon-to-be-constructed methane pipeline.