Don Webb poses near a creek that has been contaminated by waste from a
nearby hog farm Sunday, July 7, 2013, near Stantonburg. Webb is one of
588 people who recently filed nuisance complaints about against
Smithfield Foods. The residents argue that hog farm odors and pollution
make it impossible for them to enjoy their homes, creating the basis for
nuisance complaints. Their suits come at a time when the General
Assembly proposes to change the law to prohibit any newcomers to hog
farm neighborhoods from filing nuisance suits. An amendment introduced
in a senate committee meeting also would make it so neighbors who lose
in court would have to pay the legal bills of the corporate farms.Hundreds file complaints over hog-farm waste (click here)
Published: July 7, 2013
Nearly 600 residents of Eastern North Carolina have notified
Smithfield Foods that they plan to file lawsuits charging that stench,
flies and pollution from the world’s largest pork producer have deprived
them of the use and enjoyment of their property.
The 588 complaints, known as “farm nuisance disputes,” were filed in the Wake County Courthouse on Wednesday. The filings complain about the storage of hog waste in lagoons and the spraying of liquid manure on adjoining land.
The complaints were filed as the North Carolina General Assembly contemplates changes in the law governing agricultural and forestry nuisance complaints. The state House and Senate have each passed bills tweaking the way farm nuisance complaints are handled. The Senate version, however, contains a clause requiring complainants who lose in court to pay the legal costs incurred by the farmer who defends a suit....
The 588 complaints, known as “farm nuisance disputes,” were filed in the Wake County Courthouse on Wednesday. The filings complain about the storage of hog waste in lagoons and the spraying of liquid manure on adjoining land.
The complaints were filed as the North Carolina General Assembly contemplates changes in the law governing agricultural and forestry nuisance complaints. The state House and Senate have each passed bills tweaking the way farm nuisance complaints are handled. The Senate version, however, contains a clause requiring complainants who lose in court to pay the legal costs incurred by the farmer who defends a suit....
Update: North Carolina officials (click here) have filed six cruelty-to-animals charges against one of the individuals documented dragging and beating pigs and abusing them in other ways in a 2007 PETA undercover investigation of a sow farm. He is suspected to have fled the country. Charges are pending against a second man who has apparently fled the state.
Video footage obtained in the investigation revealed horrific cruelty to mother pigs and their piglets on a farm owned by Murphy Family Ventures, LLC, which supplies the largest pig-killing company in the world, Smithfield Foods.
In addition to the confinement of mother pigs to cruel "gestation crates" so small that the animals can't even turn around or lie down comfortably, the following cruelty was documented at Smithfield supplier Murphy Family Ventures, LLC:...
Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv) has been identified in Wisconsin.
The virus is especially fatal to young pigs, with a death rate of
nearly 100 percent.August 6, 2013
WASHINGTON - A new pig virus (click here) that has killed thousands of piglets is spreading across the country and has reached North Carolina from the Midwest states. Agricultural officials say efforts are under way to keep the virus out of Virginia.
"We are not aware of any cases of it in Virginia. Now, it is a highly contagious disease so there is always a chance that we could get it," says Elaine Lidholm, director of communications for the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
The virus, known as porcine epidemic diarrhea virus or PEDV, does not pose a risk to humans or to food safety and has mainly killed nursing piglets.
If the virus enters Virginia, Lidholm says it shouldn't have as big an impact as it's had in states with major swine farrowing or birthing operations, such as those in North Carolina.
"North Carolina … has a lot of farrowing operations where they are birthing the pigs there on the farm," Lidholm says. "For the most part, we take the pigs at about 40 pounds and raise them to market weight."
Lidholm says an easy way for the virus to spread would be through any combined farming operations in North Carolina and Virginia, and she says there are many such operations on the border between the states....
05 August 2013
GLOBAL - The number of sows kept in stalls (click here) throughout gestation globally is declining as Smithfield Farms confirmed its commitment to phase out this form of housing in the last week. The company has also released a video for consumers, showing sows kept in group-housing systems for most of their pregnancy. Thirteen EU states are now fully compliant with the sow stall ban. Research continues into the cause and spread of the piglet diarrhoea virus, which now affects farms in 16 US states.
Consumer concerns have prompted a large hog operation in Utah, Circle Four Farms, and 459 other farms operated by the world’s largest pork supplier to phase out sow gestation stalls, it has been reported in the last week.
Officials from the parent company, Smithfield Foods, said the company made the decision "based on input from its customers". When completed in 2017, it is estimated that the US conversion will cost about $300 million.
Smithfield's international hog operations will complete conversions to group housing on company-owned farms by 2022.
In other related news from the company, Smithfield Foods has released a video aimed at consumers about group-housing systems for sows....
August 26, 2013
Investors considering a purchase (click here) of Smithfield Foods SFD +0.03%, Inc. (NYSE: SFD) stock, but cautious about paying the going market price of $33.50/share, might benefit from considering selling puts among the alternative strategies at their disposal. One interesting put contract in particular, is the January 2014 put at the $30 strike, which has a bid at the time of this writing of 35 cents. Collecting that bid as the premium represents a 1.2% return against the $30 commitment, or a 2.9% annualized rate of return (at Stock Options Channel we call this the YieldBoost)....
August 20, 2013
WASHINGTON -- The $4.7 billion purchase (click here) of Smithfield Foods by Chinese meat processor Shuanghui International Holdings could move a step closer to completion when shareholders of the world's largest pork processor and hog producer vote on the merger next month.
Smithfield said Tuesday it will hold a shareholders' meeting on Sept. 24 to vote on the transaction with Shuanghui that was announced by the two companies in late May. Smithfield said its board of directors recommended that shareholders vote in favor of the deal....
01/05/2009
...The boy survived, (click here) but following his illness, around 800 people in his tiny town, La Gloria, southwest Mexico, also fell ill with a mysterious flu. What we also know, is that a few miles down the road lies "Granjas Carroll", an enormous hog producer, majority-owned by multinational Smithfield Foods, and the United States's biggest pork supplier. The factory has long been the target of protests by locals, who have complained of contamination for over half a decade. Now, they're making the link between the pollution which comes from the farm and the origins of influenza A (H1N1)....
When NAFTA went into effect in 1994, (click here) there were many investment incentives
for companies like Smithfield Foods to relocate operations there. Thus, Smithfield established the Perote operations with the Mexican agrobusiness AMSA (Agroindustrias Unidas de México S.A. de C.V.). In 1999 it bought the U.S. company Carroll’s Foods for $500 million and began rapid expansion of its operations in Perote.In
this "race to the bottom", companies like Smithfield had their
operations based in areas (most notably outside the U.S) so that they
would deal with lower levels of environmental and health restrictions.
"The waste is for the Mexicans, the meat for the Americans"- Smithfield's Impact on the People of La Gloria
While Mexico might complain about disease from Smithfield's, little is ever stated about the poor quality of life of their American employees. Sullivan County, Missouri is owned and operated by Smithfield's as the exclusive employer to the county. The quality of life in Sullivan County is not only poor it is some of the worst the USA has to offer with high teen pregnancy rates, alcoholism and increases in violent crimes.
Sincerely, this is the Wall Street influence in the USA.
While Mexico might complain about disease from Smithfield's, little is ever stated about the poor quality of life of their American employees. Sullivan County, Missouri is owned and operated by Smithfield's as the exclusive employer to the county. The quality of life in Sullivan County is not only poor it is some of the worst the USA has to offer with high teen pregnancy rates, alcoholism and increases in violent crimes.
Sincerely, this is the Wall Street influence in the USA.
...Sullivan County is a rural county located in the northcentral portion of the state. The population is approximately 7,000, with the majority of residents living in the country. The town of Milan is the
county seat and is home to approximately 2,000 people. Sullivan County is an agriculture and industry based community. Smithfield Farms is the largest private employer in Sullivan County...
... The average annual salary in Sullivan County (Kids Count 2005) was $27,805 compared with a state average of $34,356. These figures vary little from 2002. Unemployment in Sullivan County was 6.1 compared to the state of Missouri’s average of 5.4. There were approximately 3,500 people in the workforce in 2000. Of those, 2,300 commuted alone, 136 walked, and 220 worked at home. 1,900 of the workers held an occupation is production and manufacturing. Smithfield Farms, formerly known as Premium Standard Farms, empl oys a majority of this population. Sullivan County had over 1,100 and 23% of the children under the poverty line in 2000....
... When compared to the state for maternal and child health indicators (Kids Count 2005, MICA), Sullivan County is higher than the state rate for percent of births to mothers without a high school diploma (SC = 40.2, MO = 18.6), births to teens (SC = 77.3, MO = 43.4), and children who are on
Medicaid (SC =48.3, MO = 41.1; seven days, GC = 42.7, MO = 26.2)...
...The mortality rate in 2005 for Sullivan County for heart disease was significantly higher than the state of Missouri. Heart disease accounted for 30% of the total deaths in Sullivan County and the trend shows it to be increasing...
By Philip Walzer
The Virginian-Pilot
A Smithfield Foods Inc. shareholder (click here) has sued the pork company, saying it
hasn't provided stockholders "adequate value" or sufficient information
in its plan to be acquired by Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd.
The suit, filed by Florida resident David Payne in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, said Smithfield has breached its fiduciary duty to shareholders. It asks that the deal be blocked or, if it isn't, that shareholders receive unspecified damages.
The $7.1 billion takeover would be the largest of a U.S. company by a Chinese business. It must be approved by U.S. regulators and the company's shareholders....
Source: The Virginian-Pilot
Published July 11, 2003
March 1, 2003
Washington - The U.S. Justice Department (click here) on Friday sued Smithfield Foods Inc. (SFD.N), alleging the company failed to properly notify antitrust enforcers about stock purchases it made during its attempts to buy rival IBP Inc. in 2000.
The department's antitrust division contends in its lawsuit that Smithfield violated merger notification rules on two occasions. It said it is seeking penalties of more than $5.4 million.
Smithfield, the world's largest pork producer, had no immediate comment on the lawsuit.
After a brief bidding war, IBP in January 2001 passed up Smithfield's bid in favor of a competing, $2.9 billion offer from Tyson Foods Inc....
The Virginian-Pilot
The suit, filed by Florida resident David Payne in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, said Smithfield has breached its fiduciary duty to shareholders. It asks that the deal be blocked or, if it isn't, that shareholders receive unspecified damages.
The $7.1 billion takeover would be the largest of a U.S. company by a Chinese business. It must be approved by U.S. regulators and the company's shareholders....
Source: The Virginian-Pilot
Published July 11, 2003
Source: The Virginian-Pilot
Published July 11, 2003 - See more at: http://www.iatp.org/news/smithfield-packing-settles-lawsuit#sthash.xwFOWNTP.dpuf
A lawsuit filed by a former Smithfield Packing Co. saleswoman (click here) against the
meatpacker has been settled on the eve of trial this week. The
terms were not disclosed. The former employee, Julie M.
Bannister, claimed in the $18 million suit that the company tried to
force her to take a lie-detector test after she filed a
sexual-harassment complaint. She also claimed she was defamed by a
supervisor. Papers filed in U.S. District Court June 24 say that
the case was settled, but no details were provided....Published July 11, 2003 - See more at: http://www.iatp.org/news/smithfield-packing-settles-lawsuit#sthash.xwFOWNTP.dpuf
the
eve of trial this week.\r\n\r\nThe terms were not disclosed.
\r\n\r\nThe former employee, Julie M. Bannister, claimed in the $18
million suit that the company tried to force her to take a lie-detector
test after she filed a sexual-harassment complaint. She also claimed she
was defamed by a supervisor.\r\n\r\nPapers filed in U.S. District Court
June 24 say that the case was settled, but no details were provided.
The trial was set to open this week.\r\n\r\nLawyers for both sides
declined to comment, and Bannister could not be located. She was last
known to be living in Missouri.\r\n\r\nSmithfield Packing, based in
Smithfield and the largest subsidiary of Smithfield Foods Inc., produces
Smithfield Premium and Lean Generation pork, among other
products.\r\n\r\nBannister sold pork products to retailers and
distributors between 1998 and May 30, 2002, when she was dismissed,
according to the lawsuit. The company said in court papers that
Bannister was fired for disrupting the sales floor by gossiping about
alleged sexual affairs among company executives. - See more at:
http://www.iatp.org/news/smithfield-packing-settles-lawsuit#sthash.xwFOWNTP.dpuf
A
lawsuit filed by a former Smithfield Packing Co. saleswoman against the
meatpacker has been settled on the eve of trial this week.\r\n\r\nThe
terms were not disclosed. \r\n\r\nThe former employee, Julie M.
Bannister, claimed in the $18 million suit that the company tried to
force her to take a lie-detector test after she filed a
sexual-harassment complaint. - See more at:
http://www.iatp.org/news/smithfield-packing-settles-lawsuit#sthash.xwFOWNTP.dpuf
March 1, 2003
Washington - The U.S. Justice Department (click here) on Friday sued Smithfield Foods Inc. (SFD.N), alleging the company failed to properly notify antitrust enforcers about stock purchases it made during its attempts to buy rival IBP Inc. in 2000.
The department's antitrust division contends in its lawsuit that Smithfield violated merger notification rules on two occasions. It said it is seeking penalties of more than $5.4 million.
Smithfield, the world's largest pork producer, had no immediate comment on the lawsuit.
After a brief bidding war, IBP in January 2001 passed up Smithfield's bid in favor of a competing, $2.9 billion offer from Tyson Foods Inc....
Problem
Over the past decade, (click here) the number of hog producers in the state of North Carolina has fallen from 23,000 to 8,000, but the number of hogs in the state has nearly tripled. Large hog farming corporations have come into N.C. and have bought out smaller family farms, or have integrated with the smaller farms by providing hogs and materials in exchange for the use of the farmer's land. In this time, a population of 7 million hogs has invaded and taken over the land and lives of residents living in the one time tobacco capital of the state....
A
lawsuit filed by a former Smithfield Packing Co. saleswoman against the
meatpacker has been settled on the eve of trial this week.\r\n\r\nThe
terms were not disclosed. \r\n\r\nThe former employee, Julie M.
Bannister, claimed in the $18 million suit that the company tried to
force her to take a lie-detector test after she filed a
sexual-harassment complaint. - See more at:
http://www.iatp.org/news/smithfield-packing-settles-lawsuit#sthash.xwFOWNTP.dpuf
A
lawsuit filed by a former Smithfield Packing Co. saleswoman against the
meatpacker has been settled on the eve of trial this week.\r\n\r\nThe
terms were not disclosed. \r\n\r\nThe former employee, Julie M.
Bannister, claimed in the $18 million suit that the company tried to
force her to take a lie-detector test after she filed a
sexual-harassment complaint. - See more at:
http://www.iatp.org/news/smithfield-packing-settles-lawsuit#sthash.xwFOWNTP.dpuf
