Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
What the agricultural industry considers “normal” production practice is very different from what consumers think of as food produced with integrity. Whistleblowers, including former U.S. Meat and Animal Research Center (MARC) scientist Dr. James Keen, have exposed for decades that what is common practice in industry should not always be our standard for comparison. Someone […]
This piece was originally published in the Huffington Post. An Idaho court found that agricultural whistleblowing is not a crime. Consumers who want to know the truth about the food system won a big victory this week against the culture of silence thanks to U.S. Chief Judge B. Lynn Winmill, who struck down Idaho’s anti-whistleblower […]
What a win for transparency! Today, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory vetoed the state’s anti-whistleblower Ag Gag bill. This is a significant move in support of agriculture whistleblowers who, under the measure, would be criminalized for exposing wrongdoing at factory farms. In a statement, Gov. McCrory explained his concerns with the bill: “I believe it […]
FIC client and contract farmer whistleblower Craig Watts is featured in this segment on his legal battle with poultry giant Perdue.
Despite a recent poll showing that 74 percent of North Carolina voters oppose anti-whistleblower Ag Gag bills, the state House and Senate have each passed a measure that would criminalize whistleblowers who expose wrongdoing at factory farms. Now the bill goes to Governor Pat McCrory, who we are urging to veto this legislation. Two previous […]
The drawn-out fight against Idaho’s anti-whistleblower Ag Gag law resumes tomorrow afternoon with a hearing at the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho in Boise. The basic question at hand is whether the statute – which criminalizes would-be whistleblowers who expose wrongdoing on farms via undercover video – is constitutional. The coalition of […]
Ag Gag laws that aim to criminalize truth-tellers at factory farms have been introduced in various states, but opposition is strong. The Food Integrity Campaign is happy to share some good news: measures in Arkansas and Kentucky have both failed, and New Mexico’s legislature allowed its Ag Gag bill to languish, leaving it “almost certainly […]
FIC client Craig Watts shares his story as a Perdue contract farmer and whistleblower in this segment of PBS Food’s “Original Fare.”
Craig Watts is about as farmer as they come. He chews tobacco, he’s gruff, he wears overalls, and he loves Willie Nelson. He’s not what you think of when you think of whistleblowers like Deep Throat or Edward Snowden. But six months ago he embarked on a journey to expose what he calls hidden injustices […]
By LINDSAY ABRAMS The chicken farmer who took the brave and unusual step of speaking out against poultry giant Perdue Farms is filing for federal whistleblower protection for the retaliation he says he experienced for coming forward. Craig Watts, of North Carolina, had been raising chickens for Perdue, the country’s third-largest poultry producer, since 1992. […]