Julian A Nowogrodzki
@plantnerd.bsky.social
Science editor at @sentientmedia.org covering the intersection of food and climate Words in Nature, NYTimes, MIT Tech Review & more They/them JulianN.88 on Signal
The Trump Administration gave the Egg Mafia a slap on the wrist after it was caught price gouging. “This settlement [is so low that it] might actually encourage more criminal activity,” argues Frerick.
The Nation’s ‘Egg Mafia’ Made Billions. Their Fines Over Price Fixing Are a Drop in the Bucket.
Egg companies that received hundreds of millions of dollars in bird flu payments are ordered to settle for a fraction of the price.
sentientmedia.org
“Most people are struggling,” says Frerick. “If they actually knew the state of how pigs are raised, they’d feel bad, but they just want bacon. What really matters to them is that they can’t enjoy the lake. This is how the system impacts them.”
How Denmark’s ‘Pig Election’ Rewrote Factory Farm Politics
Could animal welfare and clean water motivate American voters?
sentientmedia.org
Last week the bioGraphic team learned that, owing to an ongoing financial deficit, the California Academy of Sciences—where we’ve made our home for the past decade—will no longer be able to provide us with financial support, including support we were expecting this year.
Many Iowans are personally affected by the state's rising and anomalous cancer rates. The cancer rate is linked to nitrate pollution (from manure/fertilizer), pesticides, PFAS and radon, a new report finds: @ninaelkadi.com @sentientmedia.org
Iowa’s High Cancer Rate Linked to Nitrate, Pesticides, PFAS and Radon, New Report Finds
The new analysis combines science on environmental risk factors with the lived experiences of Iowans battling cancer.
sentientmedia.org
I don't think anyone is doing better journalism on Midwest agriculture than @ninaelkadi.com. Her latest, on biodigesters: sold as “climate-smart,” but subsidize factory farm expansion, pollute rural water, and address only ~11% of ag emissions. cornbeltconfidential.substack.com/p/digesters-...
Digesters Were Sold as a Climate Fix. Now the USDA Is Hitting Pause.
A 90-day pause due to “loan delinquency” may signal that the viability of anaerobic digesters is being scrutinized at the federal level.
cornbeltconfidential.substack.com
In California: 10 million tons of manure unaccounted for - One farm reported producing <1% the manure expected given how many cows it has - One in Santa Ana has 570 dairy cows and reported -- wait for it -- no manure at all @sentientmedia.org sentientmedia.org/ten-million-...
Ten Million Tons of Manure In California Are Unaccounted for, New Report Shows
Stanford researchers found serious loopholes in factory farm regulation — and it’s not just in California.
sentientmedia.org
Salvadorans with TPS status have the right to work in the U.S. Yet they were told by Tyson Foods that they'd need to leave the company by March 9th, unless they presented work permits that many applied for a year ago but have yet to receive sentientmedia.org/work-permit-...
‘You Feel Like You’re Marked’: Salvadoran Workers at Tyson Foods Face Risks Due to Work Permit Delays
Longtime poultry plant workers are left uncertain and fearing job loss amid Tyson Foods’ confusion over immigrant Temporary Protected Status — despite their legal right to work.
sentientmedia.org
Feed: "Sentient" By: Grey Moran on Friday, March 6, 2026
‘You Feel Like You’re Marked’: Salvadoran Workers at Tyson Foods Face Risks Due to Work Permit Delays
Longtime poultry plant workers are left uncertain and fearing job loss amid Tyson Foods’ confusion over immigrant Temporary Protected Status — despite their legal right to work.
sentientmedia.org
"They followed all the rules." Salvadoran workers at Tyson's chicken processing plants in Arkansas have a legal right to work in the US. But Tyson is still leaving many workers in limbo. @greymoran.bsky.social reports: sentientmedia.org/work-permit-...
‘You Feel Like You’re Marked’: Salvadoran Workers at Tyson Foods Face Risks Due to Work Permit Delays
Longtime poultry plant workers are left uncertain and fearing job loss amid Tyson Foods’ confusion over immigrant Temporary Protected Status — despite their legal right to work.
sentientmedia.org
Hard to convey how much you can tangibly feel the love and care for one another people are showing here in Minneapolis. Even in the few days we’ve been here more businesses have come on board with the strike and we've met people from every walk of like doing the work to keep each other safe.
I've talked to people on the ground about the strike here tomorrow, and the single thing everyone brings up is just how shockingly wide the support for the strike is. Businesses that no one would have expected to support it are doing so.
Thomas Leeper@thosjleeper.bsky.social · 7mo agoNational media should really be covering the fact thay every major school, museum, and arts institution in the Twin Cities, and hundreds of local businesses are closed tomorrow to protest federal occupation. Nothing like this at this scale has happened anywhere in America anytime in living memory.
National media should really be covering the fact thay every major school, museum, and arts institution in the Twin Cities, and hundreds of local businesses are closed tomorrow to protest federal occupation. Nothing like this at this scale has happened anywhere in America anytime in living memory.
Margaret Killjoy is now reporting from Minneapolis, and if you find yourself doomscrolling, I highly recommend just reading her newsletter instead, it has 1000x more vitality, clarity, solidarity: margaretkilljoy.substack.com/subscribe
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Individual and community preparedness. Memoirs of an anarchist life. Reflections on history. Click to read Birds Before the Storm, by Margaret Killjoy, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of...
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Margaret Killjoy@margaret.bsky.social · 7mo agoI came to Minneapolis to report on what's going on, and one of the main questions I showed up with is "just what is the scale of the resistance?" After all, we're all used to the news calling Portland a "war zone" or whatever when it's just some protests in one part of town.
Trump slashed H-2A farmworkers' wages roughly in half, in what's been called "one of the largest wealth transfers from workers to employers in US agricultural history." The H-2A visa program was already prone to exploitation. The dairy and meat industries want in. @greymoran.bsky.social reports:
Dairy and Meat Industries Push for Access to H-2A Farmworkers While the Trump Administration Slashes Their Pay
The H-2A visa program, which recruits farm laborers largely from Mexico, has been likened to indentured servitude. The dairy and meat industries want in.
sentientmedia.org
Sure. AI companies have ALWAYS been training their models on Wikipedia content, which under the free and open access model is available to anyone — including AI companies. Agreements like these require AI companies to limit and offset the strain they place on Wikimedia infrastructure.
Club Signing Spurs 🤦♂️@markscrivens.bsky.social · 7mo agoHoping that @molly.wiki can help explain.
Long time followers are familiar with the environmental issues of CAFOs. This is a great example "manifesting is a process whereby large factory farms transfer their manure to smaller farms that aren’t subject to manure disposal regulations... sometimes the smaller farms are owned by the CAFO."
Julian A Nowogrodzki@plantnerd.bsky.social · 7mo agoOn paper, factory farms can make manure pollution legally invisible. This little-known loophole is called "manifesting" and it's part of why 70% of CAFOs in the US don't have discharge permits: @sentientmedia.org sentientmedia.org/trick-lettin...
On paper, factory farms can make manure pollution legally invisible. This little-known loophole is called "manifesting" and it's part of why 70% of CAFOs in the US don't have discharge permits: @sentientmedia.org sentientmedia.org/trick-lettin...
The Paperwork Trick Letting Factory Farms Pollute With Impunity
The practice called ‘manifesting’ lets CAFOs make manure pollution legally invisible and evade liability.
sentientmedia.org
RFK Jr.'s new dietary guidelines: living in the upside down @sentientmedia.org sentientmedia.org/rfk-jr-new-d...
RFK Jr.’s New Dietary Guidelines Are Out, and They’re Full of Red Meat
New guidelines say they want to “end the war on protein” and tout full-fat dairy.
sentientmedia.org
People tend to eat less meat and animal products, such as beef, pork, seafood and eggs, as well as fewer processed foods, when taking GLP-1 drugs for weight loss, according to new research. @byng.bsky.social reports:
GLP-1 Users Lose Weight, and Their Taste for Meat
People taking blockbuster drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy report eating less meat, dairy and processed foods. These shifts could reshape the food system.
buff.ly
"Science is being destroyed across many agencies" say federal researchers. For my latest @nature.com piece, I spoke to 19 different scientists across EPA, NOAA, NIH, NASA, and USGS to document how science is being dismantled across US federal agencies.
Dismantling of US federal agencies will ‘destroy science’
From NASA to the National Institutes of Health, federal agencies conduct research that universities cannot. Agency scientists speak out about the irreplaceable facilities, institutional knowledge and ...
nature.com
Scientists: have you been the target of an online harassment campaign, doxxing, or weaponized FOIA requests? I'd like to talk to you about steps you had to take to protect your digital security for an upcoming Nature story. (You can be anonymous if necessary.) RTs appreciated.
When the 43-day shutdown halted SNAP benefits for millions, the demand for emergency food in New York surged. This 40-year-old organization stepped up — rescuing surplus food that would have gone to waste and expanding distributions to fill the gap. NEW in Floodlight and @SentientMedia.Org:
How New York City’s largest food rescue organization stepped up during the SNAP crisis
City Harvest’s food rescue efforts are a win for both climate and food insecurity
floodlightnews.org
Why is there soy in everything from meatballs to chicken nuggets to froot loops? sentientmedia.org/why-is-soy-i... from @jesslsr.bsky.social
Why Is There Soy in Practically Everything?
If you’re avoiding tofu and soy milk, you’re still probably eating more soy than you think.
sentientmedia.org
Michigan’s new water pollution regulations targeting factory farms are 5 years old. Why are they only being enforced now? a primer on industry's delaying tactics by Seth Millstein @sentientmedia.org: sentientmedia.org/michigans-ne...
Michigan’s New Tougher Limits on Factory Farm Waste Are a Long Time Coming
The water pollution regulations were issued five years ago. Why are they only being enforced now?
sentientmedia.org
This is a great obit, and I appreciated Alice’s fight for Palestinians in Gaza being highlighted. I also want to give a shout out to Miles for asking permission to cite my post when technically you don’t have to do that re media law but still an ethical thing to do.
Miles W. Griffis@mileswgriffis.bsky.social · 9mo agoRest in peace, Alice Wong 🕊️ thesicktimes.org/2025/11/15/a...
Full article on Tyson's use of Palantir's surveillance tech here: sentientmedia.org/tyson-foods-...
How America’s Largest Meat Company Leverages Palantir's Surveillance Tech
Palantir’s controversial software platform is capable of integrating vast amounts of data — but at what risk?
sentientmedia.org
During the height of the pandemic, Tyson used Palantir to predict Covid-19 infections among meatpacking workers down to a nearly exactly figure. But rather than using this data to increase worker protections, Tyson used it plan for labor shortages + plant closures My latest for @sentientmedia.org
Most buyers sourcing squid from Chinese vessels accused of crew abuse and deaths are based in North America — nearly half in the U.S. and one-third in Canada, according to a September report by the London-based nonprofit @ejfoundation.org. (via @gaeacabico.bsky.social for @sentientmedia.org)
Your Squid May Be Harvested By Chinese Vessels With Forced Labor
Officers on fishing vessels often subject workers to physical violence, intimidation and fraud. Most of the crew members interviewed by the Environmental Justice Foundation reported being trapped in…
thexylom.com
Sentient is hiring an audience manager with newsroom experience! This is a newly created position. @sentientmedia.org is a nonprofit news outlet covering factory farms, food, and climate. Happy to answer questions. sentientmedia.zohorecruit.com/jobs/Careers...
