Meat groups speak out on hog farm nuisance verdict

Three meat industry groups and the American Farm Bureau Federation are criticizing last week’s $50 million jury award to neighbors of a hog operation that contracts with Smithfield Foods’ Murphy-Brown LLC unit, calling the verdict “a blatant assault on animal agriculture and on rural America.“ The joint statement from the National Pork Producers Council, National Turkey Federation, North American Meat Institute and the farm bureau, released today, warned that the decision, if replicated, will raise the price of food for consumers and hurt farmers at a time when they are adopting technology to increase sustainability. The verdict sets “a dangerous precedent that already is being used in other cases,” the groups said.