Pig business

We ignored the ‘No Entry’ sign at Smithfield hog factory, near Szczecinek, west Pomerania, in northwest Poland. Clambering over wire barriers, we wrenched open the ventilation shaft of one of three vast concrete and corrugated iron sheds. Inside, 5,000 squealing pigs were crammed into small compartments. Outside, effluent from concrete cesspits had overflowed, sending a small stream into the lake below. In a large plastic bin (empty the previous night) we found 20 dead pigs.

Pig factories are invading Poland. When the German army launched its invasion in 1939, Britain declared war to save the country. Now, when the world’s largest pork production company, Smithfield Foods, threatens the livelihood of two million farmers, Poland’s best foreign ally is a lone ecologist from the state of Wyoming, named Tom Garrett.

These sorts of pig factories are not just a threat to local farmers, they are a disaster for all of us, says Garrett.