Plus, Big Meat and Dairy target animal welfare and environmental activists...

From the Editor's Desk

Across Big Agriculture, Big Meat, and Big Fish, one story repeats: Powerful industries profit and contribute to climate devastation by exploiting the most vulnerable — workers, communities, and ecosystems alike.

DeSmog’s latest investigation into European farm subsidies exposes how convicted labor abusers in France, Spain and other EU nations continue to rake in millions in taxpayer cash. 

DeSmog researched 30 farms and farm owners throughout the EU, and farmhands we interviewed had horror stories.

“We were treated like slaves, working shifts of up to 14 hours,” recounts Mohammed, a graduate from Morocco, who in 2023 worked as a fruit picker in southern France. He said he experienced verbal and physical violence, constant surveillance, and deplorable, dirty living conditions. 

For the EU to funnel large sums of public money into farms accused and convicted of labor abuses is “scandalous,” and a form of “modern-day slavery,” said one member of a sustainable food systems think tank. 

Yet, employers still receive public grants, and proposed reforms could exempt most farms altogether — letting abuses multiply unchecked. Get the full story.

The exploitation doesn’t stop on land. Our latest investigation,  developed with the support of Journalismfund Europe, reveals how fishmeal factories siphon Senegal’s small fish to feed Europe’s sea bass fish farms — leaving African coastal communities hungry.

“Rich European consumers are indirectly taking food out of our mouths,” warns Amadou Kamara, who is part of a network of coastal communities calling for resistance against the fishmeal industry. 

While aquaculture is sold as part of a sustainable future, the reality is ruthlessly extractive. Dig into how fishmeal factories stoke food insecurity in Senegal and other African countries.

Meanwhile, U.S. meat and dairy giants surveil activists who dare challenge their power. 

DeSmog’s Clare Carlile uncovered how Big Meat and Dairy industry group, the Animal Agriculture Alliance, shared dossiers on 2,400 activists linked to animal welfare and environmental groups with the FBI — chilling evidence of Big Ag’s war on dissent.

Read Clare’s full investigation here.

From the fields of France to the shores of Senegal to the boardrooms of U.S. meat lobbies, the pattern is clear: profit trumps human dignity.

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Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director
 
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Photo Credit: Michael Rhebergen

Revealed: EU Farm Subsidy ‘Bankrolls’ Widespread Labour Abuse

— By Eoghan Gilmartin, Simon Guichard, Silvia Lazzaris, Meriem Mahdhi, Franziska Schwarz, Hélène Servel and Jonas Seufert (8 min. read) —

“Toothless” reforms to CAP funds are failing to protect vulnerable workforce, experts say.

How Farmed Fish in Dutch Supermarkets Undermines Food Security in West Africa

— By Remy Käller and Hans Wetzels (8 min. read) —

European consumers are “taking food out of our mouths," say Senegal’s fishing communities.

Revealed: ‘Chilling’ Surveillance of
Activists by Meat and Dairy Industry

—By Clare Carlile (11 min. read) —

The Animal Agriculture Alliance, which briefs the FBI, has tracked over 2,400 individuals linked to animal welfare and environmental groups.

Renewables Are a Global Economic Engine,
Not a Culture War Threat

— By Mitch Anderson (4 min. read) —

Energy companies are learning this lesson faster than Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.

Colossal Diesel Capacity of
Trump-Donor’s UK Data Centre

— By Rei Takver (9 min. read) —

It is “outrageous” that the richest companies in the world are being allowed to use fossil fuels to power AI, campaigners say.

From the Climate Disinformation Database: Animal Agriculture Alliance (AAA)

Animal Agriculture Alliance (AAA) is a U.S.-based nonprofit group founded in 1987 whose website says it “brings together farmers, ranchers, veterinarians, animal feed companies, animal health companies ... and others involved in getting food from the farm to our forks.” In the AAA’s 2020 Sustainability Impact report, the organisation states: “Some critics claim meat, milk, poultry and eggs can be removed from the diet to save the planet and our health. Claiming a seemingly simple solution as the cure for human and planet health is not only misguided, but irresponsible.” The AAA states that “animal agriculture is often villainized as a climate change culprit.” The group promotes a number of narratives to justify the meat industry’s business model, with statements and slogans including, “Animal agriculture isn’t a serious driver of climate change;” and “Animal agriculture’s climate impact is exaggerated.”

Read the full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database, Ad & PR Database, and Koch Network Database.