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National

In rare case, a large meatpacking plant is being forced to address workers’ repetitive motion injuries

By Madison McVan, Investigate Midwest | May 19, 2022

Repetitive motion injuries are common among meatpacking workers, but citations are rare, especially over the past several years.

Our Latest

Elanco

EPA watchdog launches probe into incidents linked to popular Seresto pet collar
By Johnathan Hettinger, Investigate Midwest | May 19, 2022
The EPA's Office of Inspector General will examine whether the collars can be used without posing health risks to humans.
Opinion

Opinion: Drones are making Big Meat sweat
By Dave Dickey, Commentator, Investigate Midwest | May 18, 2022
Too often Big Meat finds itself on the losing end of lawsuits ranging from price fixing to worker safety to treatment and welfare of animals and more. The list of wrongdoing is seemingly endless. If any industry needs to be watched like a hawk, it's Big Meat.
COVID-19 and Meatpacking

‘Toe tag resolutions’: Read key takeaways from the new Congressional report on meatpacking’s COVID-19 crisis
By Investigate Midwest | May 17, 2022
Here are some of the important emails to know that Congress obtained during its new investigation into the meatpacking industry.
Graphic of the Week

GRAPHIC: During pandemic’s first year, higher meat prices negatively affected U.S. households, USDA finds
By Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest | May 12, 2022
COVID-19 outbreaks at meatpacking plants may have had negative consequences for consumers.
Agribusiness

Despite case of bird flu in a human, experts say risk to public and poultry workers remains low
By Madison McVan, Investigate Midwest | May 12, 2022
The ongoing avian flu outbreak has caused the loss of 37 million birds since February.
COVID-19 and Meatpacking

Tyson Foods authored draft version of Trump’s 2020 executive order to keep meatpacking plants open during COVID-19 pandemic, emails show
By Madison McVan, Investigate Midwest | May 12, 2022
The Tyson revelation is one finding in a new congressional report that details the myriad ways meat executives and sympathetic government allies influenced federal coronavirus response at the expense of worker safety.
Opinion

Opinion: Supreme Court ruling on EPA’s Clean Power plan could have wide-ranging consequences
By Dave Dickey, Commentator, Investigate Midwest | May 11, 2022
In a nutshell, the SCOTUS case is putting Environmental Protection Agency authority to regulate green gas emissions on trial and how the high court rules could handcuff federal agencies, including those near and dear to agriculture — hello USDA and FDA — in consequential ways.
Opinion

Opinion: Big Chicken in the legal deep fryer yet again?
By Dave Dickey, Investigate Midwest | May 2, 2022
You might say price fixing is part of Big Chicken's DNA. And perhaps the number one poster child for price collusion has been the second largest U.S. chicken company by sales volume: Pilgrim's Pride Corporation.
We are putting boots on the ground in Iowa. Meet our new newsroom!
By Investigate Midwest | April 20, 2022
As part of an effort to better cover crucial issues in the agricultural industry, Investigate Midwest has acquired IowaWatch and its talented team, bringing together a combined 25 years of public service journalism to Iowa and the Midwest.
afida

Foreign investment in US cropland nearly triples in past decade, USDA data shows
By Johnathan Hettinger, Investigate Midwest | April 19, 2022
Growing foreign investment has spurred legislative action in states and Congress.
EPA

GRAPHIC: New EPA data shows fewer staff overseeing more pesticide registrations
By Johnathan Hettinger, Investigate Midwest | April 15, 2022
Since 2005, the number of pesticide registrations has more than doubled, while the number of employees has dropped by a quarter.
Datasets and Documents

Search through reported cases of human pesticide exposure in Illinois
By Midwest Center Staff | April 14, 2022
The Illinois Department of Agriculture has tracked human pesticide exposure cases reported to the agency since 2019.
Agribusiness

TOP TAKEAWAYS: Five things to know from our investigation into Illinois’ monitoring of human pesticide exposure
By Midwest Center Staff | April 14, 2022
These are the most important things to know about our latest investigation.
Agribusiness

How Illinois’ ‘fragmented system’ of monitoring pesticide exposure ‘allows individuals to get poisoned over and over without any brakes’
By Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest, and Amanda Perez Pintado, Investigate Midwest/Report for America | April 14, 2022
A crew of farmworkers claimed they were sprayed with pesticides. What should have been a “rapid response” was a “big mess.”
Agribusiness

E. Coli outbreaks linked to leafy greens continue despite FDA, industry prevention efforts
By Madison McVan, Investigate Midwest | April 7, 2022
Four outbreaks have occurred in the two years since the Food and Drug Administration announced its action plan to combat E. coli in leafy greens.