Jamie Berger (vegan) and “The Smell of Money”: Revealing the Devastating Impact of the Pig-People Meat Industry, Part 1 of 2

North Carolina, USA, is an epicenter for the pig-people meat industry. Almost 10 million pig-folk are produced yearly in the state, and they outnumber humans by a ratio of 35:1. The pig-people are being raised under filthy, crowded conditions in Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). “The Smell of Money” is a documentary film that follows a small community’s fight against the destruction caused by this powerful industry. “What makes you think you have a right to set up a hog farm and destroy my way of life? People don’t have access to clean air and clean water anymore.” “It’s the power to control. That’s what drives man to the end of sanity.” “All the laws protect these industries. No one is protecting us.”

On today’s program, we are honored to have Jamie Berger (vegan), a filmmaker, writer, and animal-people rights activist. She is the writer and co-producer of “The Smell of Money.” The pig-people CAFOs in North Carolina produce an estimated 10 billion gallons (more than 37 billion liters) of waste each year. “So, we know when it's sprayed onto the fields, it runs into waterways, it runs into streams and rivers nearby, and that causes a whole host of environmental problems. Many, many, many millions of fish have died in North Carolina rivers and streams as a result of pollution from the pork industry. From research, we know that many people in eastern North Carolina have had their wells poisoned.”

Ms. Berger explains that this air pollution also has other serious health consequences. “In North Carolina in particular, we know that people who live near Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), or factory farms, experience higher levels of different types of cancer, a lot of respiratory problems like asthma, certain infections, anemia.” “And so, I think that contributes to a feeling among many people in that region that, as they say, they're prisoners in their own homes because the stench and the pollution are just so egregious that it's difficult for them to feel like they can get any kind of escape.”