Q: Of all the shocking statistics and stories in the book, what is the one that affected you most?
A: I visited 20 states. I saw things I never thought I would see. I smelled things I never thought I would smell in my life. But one night, I was at a small family farm in Illinois that raised pigs. Across the street was a pig factory. It was at night. The workers had gone home. And as soon as it got dark, you could hear the screams and the squealing and the crying. It was not like one pig over there. Like hundreds.
Q: Did something happen?
A: No. This was just a night on a factory farm. Because the pigs get bigger and bigger and the pens don't. And they fight. It sounded like children being tortured. And it didn't stop. It was the most haunting and most tragic sound I've ever heard. And I think it was because it didn't stop. If there had been a commotion in the barn and they all started making noise, I might have forgotten about it. But this was arresting. That tells me these are really unhealthy animals, that there are too many animals and that they really are stressed out.
- Samuel Fromartz