Our investigation into #birdflu bailouts for giant meat and egg companies made the front page of the @nytimes! Congratulations to @FarmForward and @OurHonorVets. Reporting by @AndrewJacobsNYT

This isn’t an unfortunate result. This was the plan. DOGE was a robbery by the rich, for the rich, in plain sight.

You do not hate Congress enough https://t.co/ZB922FKfl2

what has been going on the last few weeks with the dietary guidelines is a masterclass in propaganda - create guidelines that are not meaningfully different than prior guidelines (minus a few things like protein RDA, which there is scientific consensus on now) - acknowledge no

Costco says the data will look better later, without evidence. Why take their word for it? But food safety depends on what’s happening now—and on whether companies support rules that actually protect consumers. Our full report documents the risks https://t.co/8zpTqeDpel 8/END

Ron promises that he'll make Costco chicken safer, but he won't endorse actually being held accountable to that. That matters because ~1.28 million Americans get sick and ~238 die from Salmonella each year. Poultry is the number 1 source. 7/

We asked Costco directly whether it would support classifying Salmonella as an adulterant. That would let the USDA enforce Salmonella limits in chicken, like they do with e.coli and beef. So far, no answer… 6/

Ron committed to shareholders that they won’t raise chicken prices while he’s CEO. Costco built the LPP plant to deliver 100M cheap chickens per year. What it hasn’t committed to: supporting regulations that would stop Salmonella-contaminated chicken from being sold at all. 5/

What Ron did not deny in his email—because he can’t—is that @USDA records show the plant has failed federal Salmonella performance standards every month since 2023—and ~92% of the time since it opened. 4/

If Ron takes this issue so seriously, why not prove it now? Why tell me, and the @latimes, that we have to wait until next year? Costco could publish evidence *today* showing that their food safety and animal welfare standards have gotten better. They haven’t. 3/

CEO Ron Vachris wrote that our findings, and USDA data, “do not accurately reflect the current conditions” at Lincoln Premium Poultry, and that the USDA website will be updated “early in the New Year.” But there’s a problem with that claim…2/

Apparently our report on Salmonella in @Costco poultry ruffled some chicken feathers: I got an angry personal email from the CEO himself. He was plenty mad--but he didn't say we were wrong. So since we're telling the truth, what was his defense? Read here for the exchange ⬇️ 1/

The @AVMAvets approval for mass killing animals through heat stroke isn't just an abdication of the core moral values of the veterinary profession. It's also corruption by big meat and egg companies that want your tax dollars to pay to clean up a mess they caused.

#Ocean What does wild-caught shrimp cost? All the species you see here die for this little handful. As a marine biologist, I'd love to tell you in detail what a long-term ecological disaster bottom trawling is, but few would read it—so look—let this image speak to you.

Public records show that since 2015, the state of Florida has issued licenses to “harvest and permanently retain” >1500 sharks and rays for aquarium captivity. >2/3 were redlisted species. Patrons of this program include some of the most prestigious aquaria in the world.

What would actually help? Mandatory testing and reporting. Movement restrictions between farms. Serious worker protections. Vaccines. Most importantly—a major reckoning with industrial animal farming as a public health issue and accounting for those costs in food prices. END

Allowing H5N1 to circulate widely in farmed animals is exactly how zoonotic threats escalate. We don’t reduce risk by crossing our fingers. We reduce it by stopping transmission. 4/

That regulatory failure makes this dangerous for everyone. Farmers face massive economic losses. Workers face repeated exposure with inadequate protections. Consumers are paying higher prices. And we roll the dice giving a pandemic-capable virus more chances to spread. 3/

This wasn't inevitable. The spread of H5N1 into dairy—and into another major dairy state—is the predictable result of @USDA's weak, voluntary approach. Limited testing, minimal movement controls, delayed detection, and a lack of transparency. Blind optimism isn't a strategy 2/

Bird flu has been detected on a Wisconsin dairy for the first time. This is another red flag. WI has ~5,000 dairies (vs ~1,000 in CA), many of which have outdoor access, increasing the risk of spread via wild birds & between farms. The odds this stays contained are low. 1/5

@Costco "Costco has 100% control. They get to decide how the birds are raised. They get to decide what genetics are used. They get to decide how the birds are killed. They get to decide 100% of what goes on in those operations. And right now they’re choosing the worst option.”