According to the Southeast Missourian , a Fruitland meat-processing plant might have to pay a $70,000 fine for violating the state’s Clean Water Act.





A lawsuit filed in 2015 by Missouri attorney general Chris Koster claimed Fruitland American Meat dumped untreated wastewater from animal excrement and byproducts into Cane Creek in Cape Girardeau County, thus violating Missouri’s Clean Water Act.





According to court documents, “dark brown or red, foamy stream water with an offensive odor” on one occasion killed 900 fish.





A judge ruled last month that if the company did not fix the problem by removing the existing wastewater and overhauling its system, it would face a $70,000 penalty.





In addition to polluting precious waterways, manure lagoons and animal waste make people living in neighboring areas sick. Local residents often complain of headaches from ammonia. In some places, farm workers have been overcome by these fumes and died.





Last year, an Environment America report found that Tyson, one of the largest meat producers in the world, is responsible for dumping more toxic pollution into our waterways than companies like ExxonMobil and Dow Chemical. In fact, animal excrement and other agricultural runoff from large-scale farms have polluted nearly one-third of rivers in the U.S.





Watch this video of a drone flying over a manure lagoon in North Carolina.









Factory farmers demonstrate blatant disregard not only for the planet and surrounding communities but also for the animals they treat like meat-producing machines.





Undercover investigations on factory farms around the country have revealed a culture of cruelty : animals intensively confined, painfully mutilated, and brutally slaughtered.





Take a stand for people, the planet, and animals by leaving meat and other animal products off your plate.





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