Factory Farming
Conduct Screen Animal Welfare
Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and industrial-scale confinement agriculture — companies whose primary business is raising animals in high-density, low-welfare conditions. Includes vertically integrated meat/dairy/egg producers where confinement is the production model. Distinct from animal_exploitation_meat (which covers processing and sale regardless of production method) and animal_exploitation (catch-all).
9 companies currently excluded under this screen
Excluded Companies (9 total)
Showing 9 of 9 companies excluded under this screen.
| Ticker | Company | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| SEB | Seaboard Corporation | Seaboard Corporation operates large-scale pork and poultry factory farming operations and holds a 52.5% controlling interest in Butterball LLC, one of the largest turkey producers in the United States. Seaboard Foods settled pork price-fixing litigation for a combined $24.71 million across multiple plaintiff classes: $9.75 million to direct purchasers, $4.96 million to commercial and institutional indirect purchasers, and $10 million to consumer indirect purchasers. The conspiracy allegedly fixed, raised, and stabilized pork prices beginning at least as early as June 2014 in violation of federal antitrust laws. Butterball has separately been named in turkey price-fixing litigation alleging that major turkey companies conspired to fix prices by sharing confidential sales, production, and wage data. The FAIRR Protein Producer Index tracks Seaboard for animal welfare and environmental concerns across its integrated pork and feed operations. |
| DAR | Darling Ingredients Inc. | Darling Ingredients is the world's largest renderer of animal by-products, processing dead birds, feathers, bone, meat, fat, and blood from industrial CAFO operations. The company is a primary service provider to factory farming, converting slaughterhouse waste into rendered products including fats, proteins, and biofuels. In 2024 the Maryland Department of the Environment fined Darling $15,000 for 51 violations at its Dorchester County plant for failing to maintain required empty capacity in wastewater lagoons, risking overflow into waterways. In Texas the Attorney General sued Darling's Bastrop rendering facility over nuisance odors that generated hundreds of community complaints, with the TCEQ recording hydrogen sulfide emissions at five times the legal limit and fining the company nearly $40,000 in July 2024. The Bastrop facility also discharged wastewater into a creek without authorization. |
| CALM | Cal-Maine Foods | Cal-Maine Foods is the largest shell egg producer in the United States, producing approximately 13 billion eggs per year, representing roughly 20% of all commercially produced eggs in the country. The company operates industrial confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) at scale. In April 2024 an H5N1 avian influenza outbreak at its Farwell, Texas facility required the culling of 1.6 million laying hens and 337,000 pullets using ventilation shutdown plus, a killing method widely condemned by animal welfare organizations. Cal-Maine received $44.8 million in USDA indemnity payments for avian flu depopulations. The company also paid $70,000 in penalties under an Oklahoma lawsuit settlement related to environmental violations, where the state had initially sought over $103 million. The FAIRR Protein Producer Index has flagged Cal-Maine for bird welfare and antibiotic use concerns. |
| HRL | Hormel Foods Corporation | Hormel Foods settled pork price-fixing class actions for $11M total ($2.4M institutional, $4.8M direct purchasers, $4.4M consumers), part of broader antitrust litigation alleging major pork producers conspired since 2009 to constrain supply and fix prices via Agri Stats data-sharing. Hormel was ultimately dismissed from the main case (court found it "reluctant" to participate in Agri Stats), but the settlement stands. FAIRR Protein Producer Index rates Hormel high-risk on animal welfare: no policies prohibiting tail docking or surgical castration; no enriched environments; animal welfare certifications cover only Applegate subsidiary. |
| FPI | Farmland Partners Inc. | Farmland Partners is a REIT that owns and leases approximately 155,000 acres of U.S. farmland. While FPI does not directly operate livestock, it leases land to tenant farmers who raise animals and grow feed crops for the animal agriculture supply chain. The company's portfolio includes properties used for poultry, hog, and cattle operations across multiple states. |
| SFD | SMITHFIELD FOODS INC | FAIRR Initiative - Smithfield Foods Inc (NASDAQ IPO Jan 2025); World's largest hog producer and pork processor; raises 15M pigs annually; confines pregnant sows in gestation crates despite phase-out commitments; 4.7B gallons manure in anaerobic lagoons; $2M child labor settlement 2024 |
| PPC | Pilgrim's Pride Corporation | FAIRR Initiative - Pilgrim's Pride Corporation; One of world's largest chicken producers (2nd largest US); 162.77M lbs ready-to-cook chicken weekly; 78.5% owned by JBS USA; price-fixing litigation with Johnny Rockets, Boston Market, Barbecue Integrated, FIC Restaurants |
| TSN | Tyson Foods, Inc. | FAIRR Initiative / As You Sow - Tyson Foods Inc; Produces 1-in-5 pounds of chicken/beef/pork in US; 45M chickens + 155K cattle + 461K pigs slaughtered weekly; waste lagoon shareholder proposal defeated Feb 2026; $48M pork price-fixing settlement Jan 2026 |
| SG | SWEETGREEN INC | Only approximately 40% of chicken sourced at GAP Step 2 as of 2024. Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) alignment pushed to 2027-2029. Majority of animal products sourced from conventional factory farming operations. |
The Naughty List
A digest of changes to our exclusion list — new additions, removals, and the evidence behind them. We review the list continuously as new evidence surfaces.
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