In 2008, an undercover video shot at a Southern California meat packing plant showed workers torturing cows too sick to even stand on their own to force them into the production line. That beef was then used for the National School Lunch Program.

In North Carolina, a 2011 undercover video revealed workers at a turkey farm in North Carolina beating turkeys with metal bars and stomping them. Despite the festering wounds on their bodies and eyes from the abuse, these animals continued to be part of the food production chain.

In each of these instances, horrific abuses and dangers to the food supply were found at inspected facilities only by undercover investigation. As a result, major changes were also made that helped to stop such behavior and to protect the public from exposure to diseased food.

So it’s no wonder that factory farms and slaughter houses want to hide the reality of their operations from the public. That’s why, in recent months, corporate lobbyists have been pushing legislation in states across the country to ban any attempt at exposing these horrific conditions, and cloak the operations of such farms in secrecy.

To date, eight states have passed these so-called “Ag-Gag” laws criminalizing whistleblower activities at factory farms. At least five others are considering such laws this year. They are, quite simply, an attempt by factory farms to hide their horrific practices from public view.

The public has a right to know where their food comes from, and how these factory farms are operating. Join us in calling on the nation’s governors to veto any legislation that places factory farm secrecy ahead of public health.