Research

Five years after EWG’s first analysis, manure still overloads Minnesota

May 15, 2025

Massive quantities of manure from food production in Minnesota pollutes drinking water, posing a significant health risk. Livestock facilities in the state generated almost 49 million tons of manure...

Climate & Agriculture

California

Most California factory farms, close to irrigation canals, threaten U.S. food safety

July 24, 2024

Almost all of the more than 1,000 large animal feeding operations in California are very close to water sources that are used to irrigate crops, threatening the food supply for the entire country, a...

Environmentally sensitive Mississippi River region croplands should be targeted for conservation to benefit the climate and water quality

April 12, 2023

The 13-state Mississippi River Critical Conservation Area, or MRCCA, has millions of environmentally sensitive acres that are full of opportunity to adopt conservation practices that can improve water...

Climate & Agriculture

New EWG analysis: Of $7.4B spent on two of USDA’s biggest conservation programs in recent years, very little went to ‘climate-smart’ agriculture

September 28, 2022

Farmers received almost $7.4 billion in payments from two of the largest federal agricultural conservation programs between 2017 and 2020, but only a small proportion of these payments went to...

Toxic Algae

EWG analysis: In the Western Lake Erie Basin, newly identified animal feeding operation hot spots produce excess manure, threatening waterways and human health

July 28, 2022

A new EWG analysis has identified and mapped more than 2,500 animal feeding operations in the Western Lake Erie Basin, a watershed encompassing nearly 6 million acres in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio...

Climate crisis-linked extreme weather in the Midwest shows why the Crop Insurance Program urgently needs reform

May 11, 2022

Farmers both contribute to the climate crisis – they’re responsible for producing at least 10 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions – and they can also be devastated by its harmful effects, with...

In the Mississippi River region, billions of dollars spent on crop insurance payouts could have been used instead to retire over 300,000 acres of frequently flooded fields

March 23, 2022

The almost $1.5 billion in federal crop insurance indemnities sent to farmers in the Mississippi River Critical Conservation Area for flooding damage between 2001 and 2020 could have instead taken...

Climate & Agriculture

New EWG map highlights Mississippi River region crop insurance payout ‘hot spots’

February 24, 2022

A new interactive EWG map highlights county “hot spots” that received disproportionately large and frequent crop insurance payments in the Mississippi River Critical Conservation Area, or MRCCA. The...

EWG mapping tool could assist USDA Mississippi River Critical Conservation Area protection

August 31, 2021

EWG has developed a mapping tool to track the effectiveness of U.S. Department of Agriculture programs and identify opportunities for county-level efforts to improve water quality, climate resiliency...

EWG water atlas reveals nitrate, phosphorous water pollution in four Upper Mississippi Basin states closely aligns with fertilizer use on cropland

August 31, 2021

The Environmental Working Group presents an innovative “water atlas” tracking phosphorous and nitrate pollution in four Upper Mississippi River Basin states.

Under Trump, Farm Subsidies Soared and the Rich Got Richer

February 24, 2021

Taxpayer-funded farm subsidies have long been skewed in favor of the richest farmers and landowners. But under the Trump administration, even more money went to the largest and wealthiest farms...

Pineland Sands

October 2, 2020

The Pineland Sands is a 770-square-mile area in northern Minnesota, home to globally threatened jack pine forests and abundant wetlands. The entire region is underlain by a critical, shallow and...

Meat and Dairy Alternatives

North Carolina

UPDATE: Exposing Fields of Filth

July 30, 2020

In the past eight years, three predominantly Black, Native American and Latino counties in North Carolina – already home to most of the state's industrial hog operations – added 30 million chickens...

Nitrate Pollution of Drinking Water for More Than 20 Million Americans Is Getting Worse

June 24, 2020

In much of America's farm country, nitrate contamination of drinking water, largely caused by polluted runoff from crop fields, poses a serious health risk – and the problem is getting worse...

Manure Overload

May 28, 2020

In almost all of Minnesota's farm counties, the combination of manure plus commercial fertilizer is likely to load too much nitrogen or phosphorus or both onto crop fields, threatening drinking water...

EWG Study and Mapping Show Large CAFOs in Iowa Up Fivefold Since 1990

January 21, 2020

The number of large concentrated animal feeding operations, or large CAFOs, in Iowa increased nearly fivefold in the past two decades, a new study from Environmental Working Group reveals, with almost...

Cover Crops: Reducing Farm Runoff While Saving Soil

May 17, 2019

In the summer, millions of lush green acres of corn and soybeans blanket the Midwest. Come fall, many harvesters scrape crop fields until they are black and barren, exposing large swaths of vulnerable...

Iowa’s Private Wells Contaminated by Nitrate and Bacteria

April 24, 2019

Des Moines Water Works has struggled for years to provide safe drinking water to its customers, battling nitrate contamination from upstream farms. But contamination from agricultural practices may be...

Explosion of Unregulated Factory Farms in Maumee Watershed Fuels Lake Erie’s Toxic Blooms

April 9, 2019

The Maumee River, overloaded with fertilizer and manure, is the single largest source of the phosphorus that triggers blooms of toxic algae in Lake Erie. Over half of the manure in the Maumee River...

America’s Nitrate Habit Is Costly and Dangerous

October 2, 2018

America has a serious problem with nitrate contamination of drinking water – and it is most severe in the small communities that can least afford to fix it.

Polluted Runoff: A Broken Promise Threatens Drinking Water in the Heartland

April 18, 2018

The 1985 federal farm bill created a conservation compact between farmers and taxpayers. In return for generous farm subsidies, farmers agreed to take steps to cut erosion and polluted runoff from...

Case Study: Corn Belt Communities Plagued by Nitrate in Tap Water

February 1, 2018

In December 2015, the 1,500 residents of Erie, Ill., received a warning that the community's tap water should not be given to babies under 6 months old, or used to mix formula or juice for those...

Case Study: Iowa Cities Struggle to Keep Farm Pollution Out of Tap Water

January 11, 2018

The Raccoon River in central Iowa runs through one of the most intensely farmed regions of the nation. Agriculture is vital to the area's economy, but polluted runoff from farms poses an acute threat...