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Despite Advertising, North Carolina’s Factory Farms Are Not Pretty Places
Imagery is a powerful cornerstone of food marketing — think of a laughing cow on cheese — often playing an outsize role in what consumers ultimately choose to buy. But when it comes to the marketing of meat, dairy and eggs, the branding does not necessarily match reality. Appealing to the emotional part of the brain, visuals are there to tell a story to connect with consumers, not provide transparency about the meat or milk in your cart.
As author, academic and activist Carol J. Adams tells Sentient, “We’re in an image-based world,” and “images accomplish a lot, going around rational minds, right to the emotion.” After all, in the minds of many consumers, how farm animals are raised is important.
Symbols like red barns, rolling green pastures, sunshine and happy animals are common on meat and dairy labels. But how accurate are the most common visual representations? Sentient spoke to Adams, author of the books “The Sexual Politics of Meat,” “The Pornography of Meat,” and others, as well as to Jo-Anne McArthur, photojournalist and founder of We Animals, to compare common tropes in advertising with the reality of industrial animal agriculture today.
Arizona Poised to Ban Junk Food in Schools With HB 2164 Endorsed by State Schools Chief Tom Horne
State schools chief Tom Horne has expressed support for a legislative effort to remove junk food from Arizona’s school cafeterias. Horne endorsed HB 2164, a bill that aims to ban public schools from serving foods containing potentially harmful ingredients. The substances being scrutinized include preservatives and dyes, such as potassium bromate and blue dye #2, which some studies suggest may pose health risks to children.
At a press event, Horne was accompanied by a group of supporters, including lawmakers and advocates from various sectors, all expressing support for improving the diets of Arizona’s youth. “The time has come to eliminate harmful foods from public schools and vending machines,” Horne said, highlighting the significant difference between the U.S. and Europe in terms of the number of approved food ingredients., according to a statement obtained by the Arizona Department of Education.
He also mentioned the success of previous efforts to remove sugared sodas from schools and expressed a desire to achieve similar results in the current initiative.
Farmers ‘Very Worried’ as US Pesticide Firms Push to Bar Cancer Diagnoses Lawsuits
Pesticide company efforts to push through laws that could block litigation against them is igniting battles in several U.S. farm states and pitting some farm groups against each other. Laws have been introduced in at least eight states so far and drafts are circulating in more than 20 states, backed by a deluge of advertising supporting the measures.
The fight is particularly fierce now in Iowa, where opponents call the pesticide-backed proposed law the “Cancer Gag Act”, due to high levels of cancer in Iowa that many fear are linked to the state’s large agricultural use of pesticides. Iowa has the second-highest rate of new cancer cases in the U.S. and the fastest growing rate.
The bill would bar people from suing pesticide manufacturers for failing to warn them of health risks, as long as the product labels are approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. Organizers against the Iowa bill are planning a rally at the state capitol today after the state senate voted last week to advance the measure.
Rising Costs in Organic Dairy Production Leaves Shelves Empty, Oregon Farmers Adapting
A nationwide shortage of organic dairy products has led to empty shelves and higher prices at grocery stores, as farmers grapple with rising costs to keep their operations afloat. Organic dairy farmer Robert Kircher, who runs Forest Glen Oaks Farm in Yamhill County with his brother, said the demand for organic milk is growing, but the cost of production is becoming a rapidly rising business expense. He says that the production challenges are a recent development.
“Since 2014 until just in the last six to 10 months, milk has started getting really short,” Kircher said. “Two years ago, some of our feed costs were almost double what they are today.”
While organic dairy farmers have received some federal assistance, including more than $30 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2024, Kircher said those funds offer only temporary relief. The costs of organic feed, changing regulations, and inflationary pressures are making it difficult for family farms to survive.
2 Million Baked Goods Are Recalled Over Listeria Risk
About two million baked goods, including some doughnuts and coffee rolls sold at Dunkin’, were recalled over concerns of potential contamination with the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, federal safety regulators said.
The manufacturer FGF Brands, which distributes baked goods in the U.S. and Canada, issued the voluntary recall because of the “potential for contamination with Listeria monocytogenes,” according to a report released on Wednesday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The recalled products include a mix of chocolate, raspberry and Bavarian doughnuts; French crullers; éclairs; and coffee rolls. Some of the goods were sold at Dunkin’, and were produced before Dec. 13, 2024, the FDA said. The suspected source of the contamination was not identified.
FDA: Imported Pastries Linked to Salmonella Outbreak
Ready-to-eat mini pastries imported from Canada are tied to a new Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak in the U.S., according to a notice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). So far eight illnesses in seven states have been reported.
The Sweet Cream brand mini pastries are manufactured in Italy and exported into the U.S. by PCD (Piu Che Dolci) Imports of Laval, Quebec, which issued a recall in January. The pastries were distributed in Florida, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania and also served at catered events.
Of the 18 people sickened in this outbreak, one person has been hospitalized and no deaths have been reported. Of the five people interviewed by investigators, three reported eating pastries before getting sick, the FDA said. The last illness-onset date is Dec. 6, 2024. The pastries were served and sold to food service locations, including hotel cafes, bakeries, institutions, and restaurants, according to the FDA, with best-by dates ranging from June 17, 2025, to Nov.15, 2025.
