Mother Jones Sheds Light on Pig Farming Practices

Political exposé publication Mother Jones recently published an article titled, “You Won’t Believe What Producers Do to Pregnant Pigs,” that details the horrific conditions in which pregnant sows are forced to live. The magazine notes that during their four-month pregnancy, the animals are constantly exposed to toxic fumes such as ammonia and the smell of their own excrement while being confined to cages so small that they cannot turn around. Only during the birth and the nursing process do the sows get to escape their tight quarters. The MJ article also included the 2010 Humane Society of the United States investigation of the pig producer Smithfield that resulted in McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s ditching gestation crates, and it described a factory farming public relations campaign that is fighting against animal-welfare legislation.