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Undercover Farm Footage: Illegal or Necessary?

By KRUI News Reporter Emily Woodbury

“Iowa, the nation’s top pork producer and agricultural center, could soon become the state with the harshest laws against undercover reporting in farms. Under a new farm bill, workers and visitors who enter farms to record footage under false pretenses would be criminalized. They could face up to 5 years in prison, fines up to $7500, and in some cases, felony charges.

Animal Rights groups argue that undercover investigations are the only way to truly know what is going on with our nation’s food production. Farmers say these videos are misleading and damage their reputation and profits, which is why they support the Iowa House in its passing of the bill. The Senate is currently re-wording the bill, but is expected to pass it in the next month. KRUI News reporter, Emily Woodbury spoke with both an activist and some farmers to find out the impact of undercover reporting on farms.”

Listen to the feature here:[audio:http://www.krui.fm/assets/news/Iowa%20House%20Bill%20Feature.mp3]

 

Do undercover videos & photos have an effect? Should investigators be penalized?

Listen to this “vox pop” to find out what Iowa-City residents think:

[audio:http://www.krui.fm/assets/news/woodbury-meat-vox.mp3]