Factory farms rely on secrecy to survive. In California, that secrecy is cracking.

Direct Action Everywhere just launched FactoryFarmWatch.org, an interactive map and database exposing the 1300+ largest factory farms in the state. For the first time, everyone can see where these operations are located, how many animals they confine, which brands they supply, their greenhouse gas emissions, what they look like from satellite view, and for those that have already been investigated, what the conditions are inside.

Why California?

Well besides the fact that DxE is based here, California is the largest agricultural producer in the United States. While much of that production is fruits and vegetables, the state’s top commodity is milk. California has more dairy cows than any other state and is one of the largest factory farming states in the nation, with more than 80 million animals confined in industrial operations at any given time. California is also the 4th largest economy in the world, following the national economies of the United States, China, and Germany. What happens here shapes wide-reaching markets, policies, and norms.

And California matters for another reason: people here have repeatedly demanded stronger protections for animals. We've voted to pass some of the strongest animal welfare laws in the country. California has also banned fur farming and the production of foie gras (the fattened liver of a force-fed duck or goose). And yet, factory farming is still growing in California.

Millions of animals are suffering right now in California factory farms. Here are just two of many, many examples: Over 4 million egg-laying hens are crowded inside three-story warehouses at Central Valley Eggs, never to feel the sun or grass, and over 100,000 baby cows are packed into tiny, 12-square-foot wooden crates at Grimmius Cattle Company. They were stolen from their mothers (dairy cows) on their first day of life and are now being raised either to be slaughtered for beef or to go back into the dairy industry once they are old enough to get pregnant and produce milk.

The Power of Factory Farms in California

Despite the clear desire of Californians to protect animals, extreme cruelty remains built into industry practices. People believe that our laws are protecting animals, but there are massive loopholes that factory farms exploit. For example, Californians passed a ballot measure to ban the intensive confinement of veal calves in these tiny crates but that technically only prevents veal producers from using them. Companies like Grimmius can still use these restrictive crates when the cattle are going to be slaughtered for beef or go into a dairy operation.

And even when factory farms do blatantly violate the law, the authorities refuse to hold them accountable. In fact,  we just released a new investigation showing heartbreaking animal cruelty at Grimmius Cattle Company, along with the release of FactoryFarmWatch.org. DxE investigators documented calves being violently shoved and thrown to the ground, sick calves being dragged and shot in the head, and calves left to die from neglect inside their crates. These are all clear violations of California's animal cruelty statute, Penal Code 597, which prohibits subjecting an animal to unnecessary suffering. Additionally, the confinement of these calves in 12-square-foot crates violates California Penal Code 597t which states, "Every person who keeps an animal confined in an enclosed area shall provide it with an adequate exercise area." These calves have no exercise area. They can only lie down and stand up.

The Kings County District Attorney's response to our report was simple: "...the facility adheres to established industry standards." Case closed.

Wait what? If you're baffled by that response, it's probably because you know something about the law that DA Sarah Hacker seems to have forgotten (or willfully overlooked).

There is no exemption in Penal Code 597 for the animal agriculture industry.

If animal cruelty is considered "standard" in an industry, that doesn't make it exempt from Penal Code 597. On the contrary, that should make it a priority to address! Illogically, it is exactly the mass scale of abuse happening in the factory farming industry that allows these companies to get away with clearly violating the law. When the cruelty is baked into the business model, lawmakers and enforcers just accept it as unchangeable.

We have seen this time and time again over more than a decade of investigating and reporting animal cruelty at factory farms. Our elected leaders haven't been willing to take on the powerful factory farming industry.

So a small number of corporate executives at the top are profiting at the expense of the most vulnerable in our state. This includes humans, too. Factory farming giants are taking advantage of immigrants, low-income families, and communities of color. Entire counties are covered in factory farms that pollute the air and water. The industry's massive greenhouse gas emissions are exacerbating climate change, and the diseases they spread threaten us all. This massive problem can sometimes feel impossible to tackle.

Factory Farm Watch Changes What’s Possible

At FactoryFarmWatch.org, people across California can:

• Search a brand and trace it back to the factory farms behind the label
• Identify factory farms and slaughterhouses in their communities and use the information to organize locally
• Examine climate impacts of specific operations
• Trace taxpayer-funded bailouts for avian flu
• View photos and videos of how millions of animals are living in our state

The map consolidates information from government records, manual research, and on-the-ground investigations, including following trucks between facilities to identify undisclosed supply chains. It is the result of many months of tedious research by DxE, and it includes data contributions from Climate Trace, Farm Forward, Animal Outlook, and Mercy for Animals. It is the most comprehensive single source of information on California’s factory farming industry. And best of all, it's a free tool for anyone to use -- residents organizing to stop factory farm expansions, journalists covering the animal agriculture industry, lobbyists or legislators working to craft effective pro-animal and pro-environment legislation, and of course, activists challenging this violent and destructive status quo.

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Factory Farm Watch is more than a map.

It is a launchpad for statewide action to end factory farming.

We are training drone pilots, truck followers, and animal cruelty investigators across the state. They will use this map as a tool to investigate -- and a database to publicize -- the animal cruelty the industry tries to hide. We are also bringing this information into the most impacted communities and connecting with allied social justice organizations because factory farms hurt all of us.  

We are exposing the factory farming industry and building the infrastructure to end it. And we could sure use your help.

Explore the map. Share it (or this video about it). If you live in California, sign the letter urging your legislators to review the data and take action against factory farming. Use this tool to organize. Build momentum in your community. And reach out with your feedback, questions, or ideas.

It's going to take all of us working together to bring down this cruel industry. But together, we will end factory farming in California. And when California acts, the world follows.