Little Red Barns: Hiding the Truth, from Farm to Fable

The financial forces behind factory farming have grown powerful enough to silence industry whistleblowers, investigative journalists, and even federal inspectors, according to this troubling account. Journalist Potter (Green Is the New Red) provides a wealth of examples, among them a U.S. Department of Agriculture consumer safety inspector who reported to her supervisors that electric shocks were not actually rendering pigs unconscious before slaughter, and that the animals were illegally bleeding to death; she was “relieved of her duties, placed on close supervision, and assigned to another job.” Potter also analyzes the emergence of “ag-gag” laws, enacted in nearly half of U.S. states, which restrict reporting on factory farms—“even the sharing of undercover videos on social media”—and have led to journalists being tried as domestic terrorists. His reporting spotlights how these developments are endangering not just animal but also human and environmental welfare, including exacerbating global warming. Late in the book, he writes that he had nearly finished his account of “bearing witness” when the January 6 insurrection and the FBI’s limited response—which the agency blamed on being understaffed—“broke my brain,” as he had seen the Bureau’s vigorous, over-the-top prosecution of animal welfare advocates. From there, the book morphs into a fascinating, swirling meditation on law enforcement, rising authoritarianism, misinformation, climate change, and the global spread of ag-gag laws. Readers’ brains will also be broken. (July)