Animal issue

Factory farming

The U.S. farm bill is the single biggest determinant of how billions of farmed animals live and die each year. We fund work that improves the next farm bill — and the laws, agencies, and political coalitions that surround it.

A herd of dairy cows walking through a sunlit pasture, hills in the distance.
Photo: Jakob Cotton on Unsplash

What's at stake

Roughly 9 billion land animals are slaughtered annually in U.S. food production. Federal reform is generational and incremental, but the farm bill cycle is the chief lever. Around it sit dozens of smaller fights: ag-gag laws (some now reversed), state-level confinement bans, USDA enforcement, and corporate sourcing accountability. Each is winnable on its own; together they shape the political landscape for the next farm bill.

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What we fund within this issue

  • Farm-bill advocacy and federal-level coalition work.
  • Defense and reversal of ag-gag laws.
  • State-level confinement bans and Prop 12-style implementation.
  • Corporate accountability campaigns on factory-farm sourcing.
  • Research and narrative work that builds the political case for stronger farm-animal protections.

Current focus

Research and coalition-building ahead of the next farm bill reauthorization.

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If you do work on this issue

We work mostly by invitation but welcome conversations. Read about how we fund, then email grants@zoafund.org with a brief description of your organization, the work, and why it fits.