Industrial agriculture pollutes our air and water

We should grow our food in ways that help protect and preserve our environment. Unfortunately, industrialized monoculture and factory farms dominate contemporary American agriculture.

These unsustainable farming practices contribute to air and water pollution, soil erosion, oil dependency, poor public health, animal abuse, and poorer living standards for farmers.

Local food protects our environment

Fresh, local food shouldn’t be hard to find.

The state can do much more to expand opportunities for sustainable farmers that don’t pollute our air and water. Today, most of the food sold in supermarkets and restaurants comes from factory farms. Fortunately, by creating infrastructure that allows local farmers to compete, we can change the way we eat in Virginia. 

Together, we can win for local food

As Congress rewrites the Farm Bill, we have a critical chance to reform the ways Virginia grows, delivers and consumes food.

But we need massive public support to create distribution access for small, sustainable and local farms. Our staff has knocked on tens of thousands of doors across the commonwealth, gathering support for local food.

The real key to winning this fight is you. By taking timely grassroots action, you can help win much-needed programs to help local, sustainable farmers.

Click here to take action, and join the campaign.

Farms updates

News Release | Environment Virginia

Confirm Gina McCarthy to Lead EPA

On April 11, the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held its confirmation hearing for for Gina McCarthy, President Obama's nominee to head the U.S. EPA. Read our statement urging the Senate to confirm Gina McCarthy.

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News Release | Environment Virginia

Virginia Second-Worst State for Toxic Chemicals Dumped into its Waterways

Industrial facilities dumped over 18 million pounds of toxic chemicals into Virginia’s waterways, the second-most in the nation, according to a new report released today by Environment Virginia. Wasting Our Waterways: Industrial Toxic Pollution and the Unfulfilled Promise of the Clean Water Act also reports that 226 million pounds of toxic chemicals were discharged into 1,400 waterways across the country.

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Report | Environment Virginia

Wasting Our Waterways

Industrial facilities continue to dump millions of pounds of toxic chemicals into America’s rivers, streams, lakes and ocean waters each year—threatening both the environment and human health. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), pollution from industrial facilities is responsible for threatening or fouling water quality in more than 14,000 miles of rivers and streams, more than 220,000 acres of lakes, ponds and estuaries nationwide.

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News Release | Environment Virginia

Virginia Waterways Cleanup and Consumer Choice Act Falls in House of Delegates

Richmond – Americans use more than 100 billion plastic and paper bags every year, but we recycle less than 5 percent of those bags. Many of these bags end up in landfills, and even worse millions end up floating around our waterways clogging the Chesapeake Bay and the rivers, lakes and streams that feed into it. This morning, a three member subcommittee of the House of Delegates voted against a bill that would have taken steps to reduce waste from these bags in the Commonwealth.

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News Release | Environment Virginia

More Than 14,000 Virginians Call on EPA to Clean up the Bay

Today marks the end of a public comment period on the federal government’s recent proposals to restore the Chesapeake Bay. The comment period follows the release of nine reports authored by federal agencies that served as a “draft strategy” for bay cleanup.  In response, more than 40,000 residents of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania submitted comments calling for bold federal action to restore the bay.

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