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Activist Toolkit

Not in Anyone's Backyard:
Environmental Resources to Stop the Spread of Factory Farms

The resources on this page have been collected to help ordinary citizens stop the spread or expansion of factory farms— also known as concentrated animal feeding operations or CAFOs — into their communities. Often, the fight against such CAFOs hinges not on the ethics of animal cruelty, but on technical matters relating to water quality and air pollution. Consequently, your best ally in taking on a factory farm in your local area may be the organizations specializing in those complex environmental issues.

It is important to note that many environmental groups support so-called "humane" animal agriculture as a sustainable alternative to factory farms. Farm Sanctuary emphatically disagrees with the notion that any form of animal agriculture can be considered "humane" and the inclusion of any organization on this page should not be taken as an endorsement of that organization's views. However, insofar as these organizations may help you prevent a factory farm from moving into your community, we encourage you to make use of the Activist Toolkit they provide.

Farm Sanctuary can help you raise awareness in your community about how factory farming destroys the environment (check out our other tools & resources and we will add our voice to the debate when appropriate. So please do update us on any major developments in your fight to keep factory farms out of your backyard. And if you are not yet a member of our Advocacy Campaign Team, please join today!

Anti-CAFO Organizations and Resources

Socially Responsible Agriculture Project has a CAFO help hotline and provides free professional assistance to individuals organizing against factory farms in their area. Download their “Guide to Confronting A Factory Farm” for a wealth of useful tips and information. They also maintain an extensive list of resource links on their own site.

Sierra Club provides a good overview of the environmental issues surrounding factory farms and provides news and information about national efforts to combat CAFO pollution.

Waterkeeper Alliance connects and supports local Waterkeeper programs — 182 chapters so far — to provide a voice for waterways activists and their communities worldwide. 

Food and Water Watch has an interactive map detailing problems caused by CAFOs throughout the U. S.

Reports and other information sources

Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options — a report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

Putting Meat on the Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America— a report from the Pew Commission on Industrial Animal Agriculture.

This list is a work in progress, so we welcome suggestions and other feedback from you. Please send us your comments.