Questions to Guide Your Research

Questions to investigate:

1. How important is pork production to North Carolina's economy? About how much money does it generate in gross sales for farmers annually? How many full-time jobs does it provide?

2. Where does North Carolina rank nationally in pork production? How many hogs currently are being raised in the state? In what region(s) are most located? What percent of the hogs are being raised on large, factory-size corporate hog farms?

3. What exactly is a corporate hog farm? How does it differ from a traditional farm? Why has large-scale corporate hog farming grown so quickly in North Carolina over the past decade?

4. What methods do corporate hog farmers use to increase production? What benefits are associated with these new, intensive methods? Who reaps the benefits?

5. Large-scale corporate hog operations (sometimes called "hog factories") produce immense amounts of waste. What methods are used to dispose of this waste? How well do they work?

6. What major problems have resulted from the industry's failure to manage waste adequately? What population groups have been most directly affected by these problems? What broader groups also have been affected?

7. What specific issues has the rapid growth of corporate hog farming in North Carolina raised? Categorize them and determine which are most important and why:

8. What are North Carolinians (e.g., private citizens and community groups, industry groups, environmental groups, local and state agencies, the NC General Assembly) doing to address these issues?

9. Will decisions made and actions taken in North Carolina likely influence what eventually happens in other hog-producing states?