In this episode of Canary in a Cornfield, host Adam talks with Sonja Trom Eayrs, author of Dodge County Incorporated, a book about the rise of concentrated animal feeding operations in southern Minnesota and the corporate structure behind them. Sonja describes how a pyramid scheme of multinational meatpackers, integrators, and contract growers replaced independent farming, driving geographic clustering near meatpacking plants and creating massive manure, air quality, and water pollution impacts, including nitrate-contaminated wells and community health concerns. She recounts her family’s experience fighting proposed facilities through lawsuits and facing harassment, intimidation, and distorted local governance, which she connects to coordinated industry influence through Farm Bureau politics. Sonja also shares where CAFO expansion is moving next, emphasizes documenting abuses, and urges listeners to get informed, support advocacy groups, and “vote with your fork” by buying local food.
Links from the episode:
Higher cancer rates in counties with more CAFOs, study finds
