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Wastelands: The True Story of Farm Country on Trial
Beautifully written, impeccably researched, and told with the air of suspense that few writers can handle, Wastelands is a story I wish I had written. --From the Foreword by John Grisham
The once idyllic coastal plain of North Carolina is home to a close-knit, rural community that for more than a generation has battled the polluting practices of large-scale farming taking place in its own backyard. After years of frustration and futility, an impassioned cadre of local residents, led by a team of intrepid and dedicated lawyers, filed a lawsuit against one of the world's most powerful companies--and, miraculously, they won.
As vivid and fast-paced as a thriller, Wastelands takes us into the heart of a legal battle over the future of America's farmland and into the lives of the people who found the courage to fight.
There is Elsie Herring, the most outspoken of the neighbors, who has endured racial slurs and the threat of a restraining order to tell the story of the waste raining down on her rooftop from the hog operation next door. There is Don Webb, a larger-than-life hog farmer turned grassroots crusader, and Rick Dove, a riverkeeper and erstwhile military judge who has pioneered the use of aerial photography to document the scale of the pollution. There is Woodell McGowan, a quiet man whose quest to redeem his family's ancestral land encourages him to become a better neighbor, and Dr. Steve Wing, a groundbreaking epidemiologist whose work on the health effects of hog waste exposure translates the neighbors' stories into the argot of science. And there is Tom Butler, an environmental savant and hog industry insider whose whistleblowing testimony electrifies the jury.
Fighting alongside them in the courtroom is Mona Lisa Wallace, who broke the gender barrier in her small southern town and built a storied legal career out of vanquishing corporate giants, and Mike Kaeske, whose trial skills are second to none.
With journalistic rigor and a novelist's instinct for story, Corban Addison's Wastelands captures the inspiring struggle to bring a modern-day monopoly to its knees, to force a once-invincible corporation to change, and to preserve the rights--and restore the heritage--of a long-suffering community.
The once idyllic coastal plain of North Carolina is home to a close-knit, rural community that for more than a generation has battled the polluting practices of large-scale farming taking place in its own backyard. After years of frustration and futility, an impassioned cadre of local residents, led by a team of intrepid and dedicated lawyers, filed a lawsuit against one of the world's most powerful companies--and, miraculously, they won.
As vivid and fast-paced as a thriller, Wastelands takes us into the heart of a legal battle over the future of America's farmland and into the lives of the people who found the courage to fight.
There is Elsie Herring, the most outspoken of the neighbors, who has endured racial slurs and the threat of a restraining order to tell the story of the waste raining down on her rooftop from the hog operation next door. There is Don Webb, a larger-than-life hog farmer turned grassroots crusader, and Rick Dove, a riverkeeper and erstwhile military judge who has pioneered the use of aerial photography to document the scale of the pollution. There is Woodell McGowan, a quiet man whose quest to redeem his family's ancestral land encourages him to become a better neighbor, and Dr. Steve Wing, a groundbreaking epidemiologist whose work on the health effects of hog waste exposure translates the neighbors' stories into the argot of science. And there is Tom Butler, an environmental savant and hog industry insider whose whistleblowing testimony electrifies the jury.
Fighting alongside them in the courtroom is Mona Lisa Wallace, who broke the gender barrier in her small southern town and built a storied legal career out of vanquishing corporate giants, and Mike Kaeske, whose trial skills are second to none.
With journalistic rigor and a novelist's instinct for story, Corban Addison's Wastelands captures the inspiring struggle to bring a modern-day monopoly to its knees, to force a once-invincible corporation to change, and to preserve the rights--and restore the heritage--of a long-suffering community.
388 pages, Hardcover
First published June 7, 2022
About the author
Corban Addison
11 books701 followersCorban Addison is the international bestselling author of four novels, A Walk Across the Sun, The Garden of Burning Sand, The Tears of Dark Water, which won the inaugural Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize, and A Harvest of Thorns. His newest book, Wastelands, is his first work of narrative non-fiction. It will be published by Alfred A. Knopf in June 2022. His books have been published in more than twenty-five countries and address some of today’s most pressing human rights issues. He lives with his wife and children in Virginia.
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February 27, 2023
Wastelands: The True Story of Farm Country on Trial by Corban Addison is a 2022 Knopf publication.
This is, as John Grisham states in his foreword, one of those David VS. Goliath type stories. Smithfield Foods made a formidable opponent for a group of North Carolina residents that have seen the enjoyment of their property come to a stop because of the hog farms that moved into their area, which forced them to deal with hog waste and an unbearable stench. Finally, they came together and filed a lawsuit.
With a group of dedicated lawyers, including Mona Lisa Wallace, the long, hard battle begins against a big company with deep pockets and very powerful political alliances…
This is an epic tale – a years' long battle that involved all manner of political and legal wrangling- ups and downs, and a few huge surprises. It’s riveting, but it also very enlightening and educational.
The author did a great job of keeping the plaintiffs and their struggles in the forefront, reminding us of the purpose of all the courtroom litigation. We learned their names, we learned about their lives, and why it was important to them to preserve their heritage. We also learn about the lawyers, their strategies, and dedication to their clients. We learn about the laws, got to sit in on some courtroom drama, and got a bigger picture of how these litigations work, the process behind it, the legal wrangling, and how utterly exhausting it can be for the families who go through years of courtroom battles, public scorn, and even intimidation tactics by the corporations they are fighting against.
Overall, Addison has a real knack for taking a work of nonfiction- especially one that features an abundance of courtroom litigation and political theatre, and turning it into a thrilling saga that will definitely hold one’s rapt attention. It is an eye-opener for sure!
If you like ‘Erin Brockovich’ type sagas- you’ll understand, and appreciate, the journey this book will take you on.
4+ stars
This is, as John Grisham states in his foreword, one of those David VS. Goliath type stories. Smithfield Foods made a formidable opponent for a group of North Carolina residents that have seen the enjoyment of their property come to a stop because of the hog farms that moved into their area, which forced them to deal with hog waste and an unbearable stench. Finally, they came together and filed a lawsuit.
With a group of dedicated lawyers, including Mona Lisa Wallace, the long, hard battle begins against a big company with deep pockets and very powerful political alliances…
This is an epic tale – a years' long battle that involved all manner of political and legal wrangling- ups and downs, and a few huge surprises. It’s riveting, but it also very enlightening and educational.
The author did a great job of keeping the plaintiffs and their struggles in the forefront, reminding us of the purpose of all the courtroom litigation. We learned their names, we learned about their lives, and why it was important to them to preserve their heritage. We also learn about the lawyers, their strategies, and dedication to their clients. We learn about the laws, got to sit in on some courtroom drama, and got a bigger picture of how these litigations work, the process behind it, the legal wrangling, and how utterly exhausting it can be for the families who go through years of courtroom battles, public scorn, and even intimidation tactics by the corporations they are fighting against.
Overall, Addison has a real knack for taking a work of nonfiction- especially one that features an abundance of courtroom litigation and political theatre, and turning it into a thrilling saga that will definitely hold one’s rapt attention. It is an eye-opener for sure!
If you like ‘Erin Brockovich’ type sagas- you’ll understand, and appreciate, the journey this book will take you on.
4+ stars
May 24, 2022
If you enjoy southern mysteries, true crime, or procedural thrillers, this book is for you (particularly if you've ever driven down Interstate 40 towards coastal North Carolina and wondered "What is that smell?").
I grew up in Duplin County, the primary setting of this story. The nuisance lawsuit described in this book is the culmination of decades of environmental racism perpetrated by Smithfield Foods and its subsidiaries on folks who just wanted to enjoy clean, country air on the land their families had owned, often for generations. Rather than the freedom to sit on their porch with clothes drying on a line, the plaintiffs in these suits were forced indoors as actual hog waste was sprayed into their air (and homes and occasionally well water…) by corporate farmers attempting to eliminate a problem that could have been handled by a multitude of more “neighborly” methods. Nuisance lawsuits like these rarely see a court room, as the expense of taking on such a large conglomerate is enormous, and the likelihood of remuneration is rare.
Through an incredibly lucky set of circumstances - described at length in the early chapters of this book - a legal dream team came together and realized the value of righting this grave injustice; the team was composed of lawyers from across the country, but spearheaded by Mona Lisa Wallace, of Salisbury's Wallace & Graham Law Firm (conveniently located less than a mile down the road from my bookstore in Salisbury NC).
I downloaded this ARC simply because I love a good true crime story, having no idea that I knew many of the characters described in these pages; I also was far too familiar with the stench my former neighbors continued to find themselves surrounded by decades after my family was able to move away from it.
I am certain I will sell dozens of copies of this book this summer, and I am so grateful to know that so many heroes in this story are my neighbors now. They did a tremendous service to others in our state, and deserve all the high praise contained in WASTELANDS.
I grew up in Duplin County, the primary setting of this story. The nuisance lawsuit described in this book is the culmination of decades of environmental racism perpetrated by Smithfield Foods and its subsidiaries on folks who just wanted to enjoy clean, country air on the land their families had owned, often for generations. Rather than the freedom to sit on their porch with clothes drying on a line, the plaintiffs in these suits were forced indoors as actual hog waste was sprayed into their air (and homes and occasionally well water…) by corporate farmers attempting to eliminate a problem that could have been handled by a multitude of more “neighborly” methods. Nuisance lawsuits like these rarely see a court room, as the expense of taking on such a large conglomerate is enormous, and the likelihood of remuneration is rare.
Through an incredibly lucky set of circumstances - described at length in the early chapters of this book - a legal dream team came together and realized the value of righting this grave injustice; the team was composed of lawyers from across the country, but spearheaded by Mona Lisa Wallace, of Salisbury's Wallace & Graham Law Firm (conveniently located less than a mile down the road from my bookstore in Salisbury NC).
I downloaded this ARC simply because I love a good true crime story, having no idea that I knew many of the characters described in these pages; I also was far too familiar with the stench my former neighbors continued to find themselves surrounded by decades after my family was able to move away from it.
I am certain I will sell dozens of copies of this book this summer, and I am so grateful to know that so many heroes in this story are my neighbors now. They did a tremendous service to others in our state, and deserve all the high praise contained in WASTELANDS.
May 27, 2022
I got an advance copy of the book because I'm working on a review for the NC State Bar Journal.
Wastelands tells a good story, a true story, about something that matters: a widespread challenge by hog farm neighbors to the obnoxious neighborhood effects of industrial hog production.
Sometimes would come hog odor, air-borne crap (literally), sometimes dead animals overflowing "dead boxes." Five "test case" jury trials in federal court in Raleigh, North Carolina, some selected by the neighbors, some selected by the lawyers for the Smithfield Foods subsidiary that owned the hogs and arranged for their care. The five trials resulted in five verdicts: Each of the juries found Smithfield's sub to be liable for "nuisance." Four of the juries awarded punitive damages. Three awarded punitive damages in the millions of dollars (though, unbeknownst to the juries, these punitives awards would be trimmed under NC law capping punitives), one in the hundreds of millions. One appeal decided by the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, which affirmed the damages verdict and the right to punitives. Then a confidential settlement.
I know of no other group of cases in which juries have spoken so strongly in disapproval of a company's actions.
The North Carolina legislature, in sympathy with Smithfield Farms, struck back: it legislatively altered the common law claim for "nuisance" to effectively prohibit future cases. It enacted a law that described the cases, in a "whereas" clause in the text of the bill itself, as "frivolous."
Wastelands tells this story and tells it well. And if the story is widely circulated, that would be a good thing, and would maybe help mean future changes.
The following description of hog operations comes from the concurring opinion of Judge J. Harvey Wilkinson III of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Richhmond, Va., in the one appeal that was decided:
"The warp in the human-hog relationship, and the root of the nuisance in this suit, lay in the deplorable conditions of confinement prevailing at Kinlaw, conditions that there is no reason to suppose were unique to that facility. Confinement defined life for the over 14,000 hogs—all of which Murphy-Brown owned—that Kinlaw Farms had crammed into its twelve confinement sheds. Consistent with Kinlaw's role as a “finishing” facility, hogs arrived at around forty pounds, to be fattened to over seven times their starting weight. The one thing that never grew with the hogs, though, was the size of their indoor pens. Even though “[h]ogs grow bigger now,” the pens’ design has not changed a whit in twenty-five years. The sad fate of Kinlaw's hogs was, therefore, to remain in these densely packed pens from the time they arrived to the time they were shipped for slaughter, straining in vain as their increasing girth slowly but surely reduced them to almost suffocating closeness."
McKiver v. Murphy-Brown, LLC, 980 F.3d 937, 979 (4th Cir. 2020) (citations omitted).
The root of the problem is something that should matter to all of us. Wastelands shows how industrial food operations work and how they fight to avoid change. But things need to change. This is our food, and our planet. Industrial-scale pork, at least as currently practiced, is neither sustainable nor moral.
Buy Wastelands, read it: sunlight is said to be the best disinfectant. Give a copy to your neice who is thinking about law school, or to your uncle who gives money to Save the Whales, maybe to a political candidate.
And, as one of my former partners used to say: "Thanks for listening to my rant."
Jerry Hartzell
Raleigh, NC
Wastelands tells a good story, a true story, about something that matters: a widespread challenge by hog farm neighbors to the obnoxious neighborhood effects of industrial hog production.
Sometimes would come hog odor, air-borne crap (literally), sometimes dead animals overflowing "dead boxes." Five "test case" jury trials in federal court in Raleigh, North Carolina, some selected by the neighbors, some selected by the lawyers for the Smithfield Foods subsidiary that owned the hogs and arranged for their care. The five trials resulted in five verdicts: Each of the juries found Smithfield's sub to be liable for "nuisance." Four of the juries awarded punitive damages. Three awarded punitive damages in the millions of dollars (though, unbeknownst to the juries, these punitives awards would be trimmed under NC law capping punitives), one in the hundreds of millions. One appeal decided by the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, which affirmed the damages verdict and the right to punitives. Then a confidential settlement.
I know of no other group of cases in which juries have spoken so strongly in disapproval of a company's actions.
The North Carolina legislature, in sympathy with Smithfield Farms, struck back: it legislatively altered the common law claim for "nuisance" to effectively prohibit future cases. It enacted a law that described the cases, in a "whereas" clause in the text of the bill itself, as "frivolous."
Wastelands tells this story and tells it well. And if the story is widely circulated, that would be a good thing, and would maybe help mean future changes.
The following description of hog operations comes from the concurring opinion of Judge J. Harvey Wilkinson III of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Richhmond, Va., in the one appeal that was decided:
"The warp in the human-hog relationship, and the root of the nuisance in this suit, lay in the deplorable conditions of confinement prevailing at Kinlaw, conditions that there is no reason to suppose were unique to that facility. Confinement defined life for the over 14,000 hogs—all of which Murphy-Brown owned—that Kinlaw Farms had crammed into its twelve confinement sheds. Consistent with Kinlaw's role as a “finishing” facility, hogs arrived at around forty pounds, to be fattened to over seven times their starting weight. The one thing that never grew with the hogs, though, was the size of their indoor pens. Even though “[h]ogs grow bigger now,” the pens’ design has not changed a whit in twenty-five years. The sad fate of Kinlaw's hogs was, therefore, to remain in these densely packed pens from the time they arrived to the time they were shipped for slaughter, straining in vain as their increasing girth slowly but surely reduced them to almost suffocating closeness."
McKiver v. Murphy-Brown, LLC, 980 F.3d 937, 979 (4th Cir. 2020) (citations omitted).
The root of the problem is something that should matter to all of us. Wastelands shows how industrial food operations work and how they fight to avoid change. But things need to change. This is our food, and our planet. Industrial-scale pork, at least as currently practiced, is neither sustainable nor moral.
Buy Wastelands, read it: sunlight is said to be the best disinfectant. Give a copy to your neice who is thinking about law school, or to your uncle who gives money to Save the Whales, maybe to a political candidate.
And, as one of my former partners used to say: "Thanks for listening to my rant."
Jerry Hartzell
Raleigh, NC
June 6, 2022
Good triumphs over wrong in this historical saga, outlining the dogged determination of a team of attorneys, paralegals and others who spent years defending the rights of people to enjoy their land and homes.
THE WRONG: In Eastern North Carolina, the pig farms are kings of the land, most often with the support of the government. Murphy Brown, now owned by the Chinese, cares only for profit, be damned the community, neighbors and animals as they spray noxious and smelly liquid from collection ponds over the neighbors' lands. Trucks with dead pigs ramble the roads, adding to the problems of smell and noise at all hours.
THE GOOD: The landowners and their neighbors, many of whom own inherited farmland where they have raised and educated families, planted their land and gardens, enjoyed their porches and their homes. Enter the pig farms who created stench and the spray made it impossible to sit or enjoy outside. A few brave souls fought the pig farms, battling local politicians and legislators in Raleigh. Their complaints were ignored.
Then entered the other good, Mona Lisa Wallace, an attorney in Salisbury, NC. A Southern lady born with a heart of gold and a backbone of steel, Mrs. Wallace has a history of defending the wronged. Her firm, Wallace and Graham, knows no fear and will go for all odds to right wrongs. She and her partners, Bill Graham and Whitney Williams established a team to fight this injustice and seek compensation for these landowners.
THE BOOK: Corban Addison, author but an attorney captures THE WASTELANDS, with interviews, trials and upsets, politics, personalities of the judges, the team, the landowners in layman words but with the expertise of a law background. His accounting of this long fight and trial is documented in an appendix. This is a fast-moving, well-written book I recommend to anyone who enjoys a good ending where good does triumph over wrong.
THE WRONG: In Eastern North Carolina, the pig farms are kings of the land, most often with the support of the government. Murphy Brown, now owned by the Chinese, cares only for profit, be damned the community, neighbors and animals as they spray noxious and smelly liquid from collection ponds over the neighbors' lands. Trucks with dead pigs ramble the roads, adding to the problems of smell and noise at all hours.
THE GOOD: The landowners and their neighbors, many of whom own inherited farmland where they have raised and educated families, planted their land and gardens, enjoyed their porches and their homes. Enter the pig farms who created stench and the spray made it impossible to sit or enjoy outside. A few brave souls fought the pig farms, battling local politicians and legislators in Raleigh. Their complaints were ignored.
Then entered the other good, Mona Lisa Wallace, an attorney in Salisbury, NC. A Southern lady born with a heart of gold and a backbone of steel, Mrs. Wallace has a history of defending the wronged. Her firm, Wallace and Graham, knows no fear and will go for all odds to right wrongs. She and her partners, Bill Graham and Whitney Williams established a team to fight this injustice and seek compensation for these landowners.
THE BOOK: Corban Addison, author but an attorney captures THE WASTELANDS, with interviews, trials and upsets, politics, personalities of the judges, the team, the landowners in layman words but with the expertise of a law background. His accounting of this long fight and trial is documented in an appendix. This is a fast-moving, well-written book I recommend to anyone who enjoys a good ending where good does triumph over wrong.
January 27, 2023
Wow. This book is unbelievable. Poor, Black farmers vs Smithfield Corporation (Big Ag.) This story is infuriating from a human perspective, from a political perspective, from a corporate perspective. I could hardly put it down. I found myself with tears in my eyes at multiple points while also having huge smiles, and verbally saying “Yes!!” when the trial descriptions were given. I am a Grisham fan, and this reads like the underdog stories he writes, only difference being this one is nonfiction. Definitely will be recommending to others.
June 16, 2022
Couldn't put it down...in the vein of The Informant this epic tale of battling Chinese owned Smithfield Foods is a winner. Couldn't help but think about the casting of this story when inevitably made into a feature film.
Hard to fathom the weight of the Chinese and BigPork lobby throwing everything they had against this small band of lawyers and their 500+ clients in Eastern North Carolina.
Addison deftly captures the character studies as he ramps up a perfect narrative drive to give a blow by blow of the amazing verdicts obtained in the heart of hog country.
Was intrigued and tracked down an interview the author gave about the trial lawyer who slayed BigPork...calling Mike Kaeske a "Liam Neeson type of character...a man with a special set of skills"
A must read.
Hard to fathom the weight of the Chinese and BigPork lobby throwing everything they had against this small band of lawyers and their 500+ clients in Eastern North Carolina.
Addison deftly captures the character studies as he ramps up a perfect narrative drive to give a blow by blow of the amazing verdicts obtained in the heart of hog country.
Was intrigued and tracked down an interview the author gave about the trial lawyer who slayed BigPork...calling Mike Kaeske a "Liam Neeson type of character...a man with a special set of skills"
A must read.
June 14, 2022
Thanks to Mr. Addison's unique qualifications as a novelist with a deep knowledge of American jurisprudence, the often mundane details of trial work are masterfully woven into a compelling story of humanity, empathy and a dogged determination that the truth will ultimately triumph in the face of corporate greed. After 300 pages of story-telling, by the end you will find yourself crying right along with the plaintiffs and their attorneys.
July 19, 2022
A non fiction book that reads like a thriller. The unbelievable story of North Carolina’s corrupt, racist, powerful meat packing industry. The hog factories are bastions of cruelty (whether you are a vegetarian or not much of the reading is horrific), but the book focuses on the battle between Smithfield Foods (which becomes a China owned company) and the residents whose homes and air are polluted by the (literal) spray guns of waste that falls onto their fields. Horrible and riveting.
June 23, 2022
Wow. Glad I stumbled upon this hidden gem. This will be an all time favorite of mine.
January 14, 2023
Eastern North Carolina is home to more pigs than people. These are rural areas you may drive by on your way to one of the NC beaches and not think much of it. But in the past two decades huge industrial hog farms have set up shop all over Eastern North Carolina and have contributed to huge amounts of pollution and nuisance to their unfortunate neighbors. Many of these neighbors are poor African-Americans who have lived on their land for generations. When these hog farms came in they tried every resource they could think of to try to combat it with no help. Until 2013 when a law firm in Salisbury, NC was asked to take on some nuisance lawsuits for clients living near these industrial hog farms. These cases would drag on for 7 years and read almost like fiction for all the underhanded dealings of the hog industry tycoons and their cronies in the NC Legislature. And while I don't want to give anything away it becomes very much a David vs. Goliath legal case that will deal a serious blow to Smithfield Foods (currently owned by China).
This book is the story of the legal battle between Smithfield Foods and several dozen residents of Eastern NC, but it still highlights the horrific practices of the industrial food industry. The only people profiting from Smithfield Foods are the executives - the land, the pigs, the farmers, the neighbors, and the people eating this food all lose. This book also perfectly illustrates the proverb that the love of money is the root of all evil. Which is the motto of the industrial food industry anyway. I was also FURIOUS at the men in power in the NC Legislature that lied, cheated, and paid big money to try to legislate protection for Smithfield. As a native North Carolinian I wanted to throw all those men into one of these hog waste lagoons by the end of the book. It's infuriating to me that these people run under the guise of protecting "family farms" which is NOT protecting family farms, but corporations like Smithfield and their own pockets. This book does give an overall look at how awful industrial hog farms are even though that's not the main point.
Reading this book made me wish I had become a lawyer. This is like the hog farm version of Erin Brockovich. A few reviews complained that it was overly descriptive or overly written and I agree there were a few spots of that, but the overall story was just so compelling I could look past that. My only other minor complaint (that couldn't be helped) was that there were just SO MANY people and names that it was sometimes hard to keep track of who everyone was in the narrative. But, overall I thought this book was AMAZING and I'll be buying a copy. It should be required reading for every NC resident as well.
Some quotes I liked:
"It [the lagoon and spraying system for hog waste] was a colossal exercise in magical thinking. Between lagoon spills and flooding from storms and hurricanes, the industry has despoiled waterways across eastern North Carolina and befouled the air and land in dozens of communities. Yet the corporate hog barons - Smithfield chief among them - have never been held to account. Rather, they have raked in profits by the billions." (p. 27)
"There are nine million hogs in the state, nearly one per person. If humanity suddenly went vegan, almost every North Carolinian could have a pig for a pet. All but a nominal fraction of these hogs are concentrated in the vast expanse of coastal plain east of Interstate 95. In Duplin County alone...there are nearly thirty-five hogs for every human being, a density higher than any other place on earth. Yet this truth has remained largely hidden...North Carolina is famous for many things, but being home to the pork capital of the world is not one of them. Quite conveniently - for the tourist bureau, at least - the hog kingdom is tucked away in a rural region of the state invisible to outsiders and forgotten by most North Carolinians, except when they make the drive down Interstate 40 to the port of Wilmington." (p. 30-31)
[When NC Representative Cindy Watson tried to introduce legislation to help combat industrial hog farms she received death threats] "But informing the FBI was not enough. The following day, Cindy told her colleagues on the floor of the House. 'I have a little tape in my hand. Some of my hog farmers aren't real happy with me. They've threatened to kill me, to drown me in the Cape Fear River. I just want you all to know it. I want to make a public record, Mr. Speaker.' No one on the floor moved. No one spoke. But the message got through. The hog farmers left her family alone." (p. 87) [But, they backed her opponent and she didn't get re-elected during the next election]
"John [Hughes - one of the lawyers fighting Smithfield] wades through court record and finds the contract. It's the first grower agreement he has ever seen. He reads it with fascination. He knew the relationship was lopsided, but the full extent of the imbalance blows his mind...The relationship is purely provisional. The grower must live with the constant risk of total loss, all to earn a subsistence income of a few dollars per marketable hog. Murphy-Brown, meanwhile, collects the fully grown hogs from its farms, slaughters them at its slaughterhouse, packages the meat for sale - or exports it to China or elsewhere overseas - and rakes in around a billion dollars a year in profit. The growers, in effect, are modern-day sharecroppers." (p. 127)
[A photographer and scientist are permitted to test and photograph the inside and around some of the hog farms. There are several pages around how long the smell clung to things and how hard it was for the people who were there to get rid of the smell.] "At Corey's Christmas party, he shows off his camera to a few of his buddies. The smell of the hog barns is like a halo around it. One of his friends suggests he file an insurance claim and purchase a replacement...[he] tries an experiment first. He places the camera outside in the golden Colorado sunshine. He gives it time, allows the intense solar radiation to burn the VOCs and bioaerosols off the glass and plastic surfaces. The experiment was successful. The camera is saved. After two months in the sun." (p. 183)
"The $473 million award - reduced to $94 million by the statutory cap - accomplished what Mona and Mike had hoped: It forced the Murphy men to change. That autumn, Smithfield made sweeping improvements to its production practices, installing refrigerated dead boxes, replacing high-powered spray guns with subsurface injection and low-pressure irrigation, and limiting its trucking schedule to daylight hours. Smithfield also announced the planned conversion of 90 percent of its lagoons into covered biogas digesters. The company's publicists spun these changes as an outgrowth of a broader sustainability initiative designed to cut greenhouse emissions across its supply chain, not a concession to the cudgel of $550 million in jury verdicts. But the targeted nature of the improvements, the tens of millions of dollars required to deploy them, and the timing of the announcement suggest otherwise." (p. 344)
This book is the story of the legal battle between Smithfield Foods and several dozen residents of Eastern NC, but it still highlights the horrific practices of the industrial food industry. The only people profiting from Smithfield Foods are the executives - the land, the pigs, the farmers, the neighbors, and the people eating this food all lose. This book also perfectly illustrates the proverb that the love of money is the root of all evil. Which is the motto of the industrial food industry anyway. I was also FURIOUS at the men in power in the NC Legislature that lied, cheated, and paid big money to try to legislate protection for Smithfield. As a native North Carolinian I wanted to throw all those men into one of these hog waste lagoons by the end of the book. It's infuriating to me that these people run under the guise of protecting "family farms" which is NOT protecting family farms, but corporations like Smithfield and their own pockets. This book does give an overall look at how awful industrial hog farms are even though that's not the main point.
Reading this book made me wish I had become a lawyer. This is like the hog farm version of Erin Brockovich. A few reviews complained that it was overly descriptive or overly written and I agree there were a few spots of that, but the overall story was just so compelling I could look past that. My only other minor complaint (that couldn't be helped) was that there were just SO MANY people and names that it was sometimes hard to keep track of who everyone was in the narrative. But, overall I thought this book was AMAZING and I'll be buying a copy. It should be required reading for every NC resident as well.
Some quotes I liked:
"It [the lagoon and spraying system for hog waste] was a colossal exercise in magical thinking. Between lagoon spills and flooding from storms and hurricanes, the industry has despoiled waterways across eastern North Carolina and befouled the air and land in dozens of communities. Yet the corporate hog barons - Smithfield chief among them - have never been held to account. Rather, they have raked in profits by the billions." (p. 27)
"There are nine million hogs in the state, nearly one per person. If humanity suddenly went vegan, almost every North Carolinian could have a pig for a pet. All but a nominal fraction of these hogs are concentrated in the vast expanse of coastal plain east of Interstate 95. In Duplin County alone...there are nearly thirty-five hogs for every human being, a density higher than any other place on earth. Yet this truth has remained largely hidden...North Carolina is famous for many things, but being home to the pork capital of the world is not one of them. Quite conveniently - for the tourist bureau, at least - the hog kingdom is tucked away in a rural region of the state invisible to outsiders and forgotten by most North Carolinians, except when they make the drive down Interstate 40 to the port of Wilmington." (p. 30-31)
[When NC Representative Cindy Watson tried to introduce legislation to help combat industrial hog farms she received death threats] "But informing the FBI was not enough. The following day, Cindy told her colleagues on the floor of the House. 'I have a little tape in my hand. Some of my hog farmers aren't real happy with me. They've threatened to kill me, to drown me in the Cape Fear River. I just want you all to know it. I want to make a public record, Mr. Speaker.' No one on the floor moved. No one spoke. But the message got through. The hog farmers left her family alone." (p. 87) [But, they backed her opponent and she didn't get re-elected during the next election]
"John [Hughes - one of the lawyers fighting Smithfield] wades through court record and finds the contract. It's the first grower agreement he has ever seen. He reads it with fascination. He knew the relationship was lopsided, but the full extent of the imbalance blows his mind...The relationship is purely provisional. The grower must live with the constant risk of total loss, all to earn a subsistence income of a few dollars per marketable hog. Murphy-Brown, meanwhile, collects the fully grown hogs from its farms, slaughters them at its slaughterhouse, packages the meat for sale - or exports it to China or elsewhere overseas - and rakes in around a billion dollars a year in profit. The growers, in effect, are modern-day sharecroppers." (p. 127)
[A photographer and scientist are permitted to test and photograph the inside and around some of the hog farms. There are several pages around how long the smell clung to things and how hard it was for the people who were there to get rid of the smell.] "At Corey's Christmas party, he shows off his camera to a few of his buddies. The smell of the hog barns is like a halo around it. One of his friends suggests he file an insurance claim and purchase a replacement...[he] tries an experiment first. He places the camera outside in the golden Colorado sunshine. He gives it time, allows the intense solar radiation to burn the VOCs and bioaerosols off the glass and plastic surfaces. The experiment was successful. The camera is saved. After two months in the sun." (p. 183)
"The $473 million award - reduced to $94 million by the statutory cap - accomplished what Mona and Mike had hoped: It forced the Murphy men to change. That autumn, Smithfield made sweeping improvements to its production practices, installing refrigerated dead boxes, replacing high-powered spray guns with subsurface injection and low-pressure irrigation, and limiting its trucking schedule to daylight hours. Smithfield also announced the planned conversion of 90 percent of its lagoons into covered biogas digesters. The company's publicists spun these changes as an outgrowth of a broader sustainability initiative designed to cut greenhouse emissions across its supply chain, not a concession to the cudgel of $550 million in jury verdicts. But the targeted nature of the improvements, the tens of millions of dollars required to deploy them, and the timing of the announcement suggest otherwise." (p. 344)
September 1, 2022
"Wastelands" chronicles a scorched earth legal battle between "Big Pork" (Smithfield Foods) and a group of plaintiffs who owned land in proximity to giant hog farms who sell to Smithfield. These hog farms, known as CAFO's (concentrated animal feeding operations), generate outsized amounts of urine and feces, which -- spoiler alert -- create a nuisance to adjoining property owners. Although the opposing sides are starkly drawn -- literally black and white -- Addison feels compelled at almost every turn to bludgeon the reader with overwrought, purple prose to accentuate good (plaintiff property owners) versus evil (Big Pork). Every plaintiff is portrayed as saintly; every industry representative is described as either greedy, duplicitous, incompetent, or a mixture of all three. Plaintiffs' counsel does not merely prepare a legal pleading; he is likened to Martin Luther preparing his 95 Theses. (No, I am not making this up.) Addison's hyperbolic style was as grating as it was unnecessary. He also tended to elide details that would have had a tendency to reflect poorly on plaintiffs' counsel. We learn that the whole impetus for the lawsuits came from attorneys outside of North Carolina, who initiate the North Carolina litigation, but then are basically disqualified from participating for reasons that are never really explained.
June 14, 2022
An Eye Opening Epistle on the Effects of Corporate Hog Farming
I’ve often heard the expression the the stench of hog farms is ‘the smell of money.’ It sure is for the giant corporations that wallow in it. Unfortunately the neighbors to these hog confinement farms the smell is stench and lifestyle debilitating. I can even imagine waking up every morning to that smell. These neighbors in eastern North Carolina find their champions in lawyers Mona Lisa Wallace and Mike Kaeske and their law firms. These lawyers and their staff not only champion the rights of these folks but also become friends and family to them.
I am not normally a nonfiction reader but this book drew me in to the cause that a Northern Michigan girl would never have considered. You will be horrified at the conditions of the farms and the waste they produce and yet you will find hope and triumph. Take your time reading this book because it’s a lot to take in and yet is very readable. I found my dictionary function on my Kindle very helpful at time and my vocabulary considerably expanded but well worth the effort. This book is poetry to the justice system.
I’ve often heard the expression the the stench of hog farms is ‘the smell of money.’ It sure is for the giant corporations that wallow in it. Unfortunately the neighbors to these hog confinement farms the smell is stench and lifestyle debilitating. I can even imagine waking up every morning to that smell. These neighbors in eastern North Carolina find their champions in lawyers Mona Lisa Wallace and Mike Kaeske and their law firms. These lawyers and their staff not only champion the rights of these folks but also become friends and family to them.
I am not normally a nonfiction reader but this book drew me in to the cause that a Northern Michigan girl would never have considered. You will be horrified at the conditions of the farms and the waste they produce and yet you will find hope and triumph. Take your time reading this book because it’s a lot to take in and yet is very readable. I found my dictionary function on my Kindle very helpful at time and my vocabulary considerably expanded but well worth the effort. This book is poetry to the justice system.
September 13, 2022
A nice wallow through the economics, politics, and legalities of hog crap. Yay! This was similar in a lot of ways to "Empire of Pain", about the origins of the opioid crisis. Writing style has much in common with legal thrillers, which sometimes seemed inappropriate for a non-fiction book, but I can't deny that it helped the pace of the story move right along. A really fascinating story that gave me a lot to think about the next time I pick up a package of pork loin at the supermarket...
October 10, 2023
A remarkably well written saga on the unsavory topic of hog farming and environmental pollution and the subsequent litigation.
4.5 stars. Highly recommended.
4.5 stars. Highly recommended.
April 12, 2023
A unique nonfiction book, Addison told the compelling stories of disadvantaged people seeking to reclaim a sense of rightness and justice in their communities soiled by industrial agricultural operators and the tales of the lawyers tasked with fighting for their cause. I think what makes this a great read though is how it effortlessly ties in the specific history of the plaintiffs with bigger issues--the legacy of racism in the South, the influence of big money in politics, the commonplace of environmental racism, and the tendency of capitalism to turn people into nothing more than assets in the chain of production with no regard for who might be impacted along the way.
I feel now I have a greater sense of understanding of how powerful the agricultural lobby is in this country. In the world of carbon emissions reductions strategies, we often talk about transportation or electricity sectors as having the greatest impact and reductions potential. These are important areas, but we overlook how impactful the agricultural industry is. As Frances Moore Lappé wrote about in her trailblazing work, the CAFOs producing pork in such mass volume and the industrialized croplands of the Midwest produce a far greater volume of food than we would need to feed the world. Yet the message of scarcity and necessity associated with the ill environmental and human impacts of these processes is widely disseminated, as Addison mentioned countless times throughout this book. Not only is the message of Smithfield morally abhorrent but factually dubious when we look at the bigger picture of food supply and distribution.
I saw references to contemporary political leaders, ones who are often called "moderates" but who villainized the lived experiences of the plaintiffs in the name of kowtowing to their industry campaign donors. The political history of North Carolina is examined throughout, as the North Carolina General Assembly is a major player in the stories of these lawsuits. The recognition and examination of the political process as it intersects with the judicial branch was refreshing and sorely needed, especially in an era where courts have blatantly become yet another political branch.
The ending dares to evoke a sense of hope. As someone who has grown skeptical of law as a practice given the clear willingness of federal courts to toss out decades of precedence in favor of their own political worldview, seeing the story of hardworking lawyers fighting tirelessly for their clients against a heartless company to come out with some victories was heartening. If you wish to see how the courts can be used for good, this book presents a great narrative examining a lengthy example of such.
I feel now I have a greater sense of understanding of how powerful the agricultural lobby is in this country. In the world of carbon emissions reductions strategies, we often talk about transportation or electricity sectors as having the greatest impact and reductions potential. These are important areas, but we overlook how impactful the agricultural industry is. As Frances Moore Lappé wrote about in her trailblazing work, the CAFOs producing pork in such mass volume and the industrialized croplands of the Midwest produce a far greater volume of food than we would need to feed the world. Yet the message of scarcity and necessity associated with the ill environmental and human impacts of these processes is widely disseminated, as Addison mentioned countless times throughout this book. Not only is the message of Smithfield morally abhorrent but factually dubious when we look at the bigger picture of food supply and distribution.
I saw references to contemporary political leaders, ones who are often called "moderates" but who villainized the lived experiences of the plaintiffs in the name of kowtowing to their industry campaign donors. The political history of North Carolina is examined throughout, as the North Carolina General Assembly is a major player in the stories of these lawsuits. The recognition and examination of the political process as it intersects with the judicial branch was refreshing and sorely needed, especially in an era where courts have blatantly become yet another political branch.
The ending dares to evoke a sense of hope. As someone who has grown skeptical of law as a practice given the clear willingness of federal courts to toss out decades of precedence in favor of their own political worldview, seeing the story of hardworking lawyers fighting tirelessly for their clients against a heartless company to come out with some victories was heartening. If you wish to see how the courts can be used for good, this book presents a great narrative examining a lengthy example of such.
May 18, 2023
Inject that Erin Brockovich/A Civil Action narrative into my veins! Every time I read a book like this, I'm like "Should I become a lawyer?" The writing is a little over-the-top (of course an author who is also a lawyer thinks that these lawyers are doing groundbreaking God's work), but Addison has an enviable collection of inspiring quotes that makes you feel like this is the most important case for justice ever fought.
July 27, 2022
Interesting, but it seemed kind of repetitive. Definitely doesn’t make me want to buy any more Smithfield products though.
July 4, 2022
Wasteland is brilliantly written! You will feel the heartbeat of folks in eastern NC who live with the stench of hog farms. The Wallace and Graham team excels at research and digging deep to expose relationships between the hog kings, big pork, “consultants,” and others. The attorneys, legal teams, politicos, scientists, lobbyists, elected officials, company men and plaintiffs are integral to the story! Thank goodness there a folks like Mona and Mike who will stand up for the “little guy” and not give up! If you are curious as to what happens behind the scenes in a law suit against billion dollar companies, Wasteland is a must read.
June 28, 2022
I picked this up from the library thinking it would be like one of Addison’s previous novels, which I really loved. I didn’t realize it was a true story about the legal battle of low income NC residents vs. the enormous hog farming industry. It definitely wasn’t the type of book I typically enjoy, so I would be limited in who I recommend this to, but it was incredibly well-written and impeccably researched. This book is a work of art.
November 17, 2022
This book hit home for me, being from Iowa and experiencing the noxious fumes of hog CAFOs. It read like a legal thriller and needs to be brought to life in a streamed series. You will find yourself rooting for the aggrieved neighbors, and not the hogs, pun intended 😂
April 28, 2023
It’s a solid story but at time the author’s sanctimony becomes redundant. It’s like he’s trying to remind the reader whose side they’re on. We’re on the side of the people who are literally getting shit on. You don’t need to keep telling us.
August 10, 2023
3.75 stars.
A copy of this book was lent to me by a good friend from school. It was pointed out for the dual themes of environmental issues and law. I thought it was interesting learning about how such a big lawsuit goes to trial; about the lengths the plaintiffs had to go to to meet the burden of proof and the sheer extent of Smithfield's smear campaign against them.
That being said I wasn't exactly fascinated by the many many pages that go into detail about hog shit. It comes as no surprise that big greedy corporations would pollute to such an extent in the first place, much less that the burden of this pollution would disproportionately fall on people of color. I'm not sure if Addison ever applied the term "environmental racism" but it would've been fitting.
I also observed that Addison went at lengths at many points with his exposition to sound very grandiose and eloquent. Yet more often than not I found that his efforts in this regard just came off as silly and absurd. On the first page of chapter 24, "Cloud of witnesses," he seeks to describe the smells of a battlefield and comparing them to the alleged smells of the courtroom. He follows this up with strange descriptions like "the heavy musk of bodies" and a bizarre quote: "But one can still smell it, a faint whiff of condensed humanity."
Overall a relevant and important book relating to topics of law and the environment. I just wouldn't necessarily describe it as riveting.
A copy of this book was lent to me by a good friend from school. It was pointed out for the dual themes of environmental issues and law. I thought it was interesting learning about how such a big lawsuit goes to trial; about the lengths the plaintiffs had to go to to meet the burden of proof and the sheer extent of Smithfield's smear campaign against them.
That being said I wasn't exactly fascinated by the many many pages that go into detail about hog shit. It comes as no surprise that big greedy corporations would pollute to such an extent in the first place, much less that the burden of this pollution would disproportionately fall on people of color. I'm not sure if Addison ever applied the term "environmental racism" but it would've been fitting.
I also observed that Addison went at lengths at many points with his exposition to sound very grandiose and eloquent. Yet more often than not I found that his efforts in this regard just came off as silly and absurd. On the first page of chapter 24, "Cloud of witnesses," he seeks to describe the smells of a battlefield and comparing them to the alleged smells of the courtroom. He follows this up with strange descriptions like "the heavy musk of bodies" and a bizarre quote: "But one can still smell it, a faint whiff of condensed humanity."
Overall a relevant and important book relating to topics of law and the environment. I just wouldn't necessarily describe it as riveting.
February 3, 2024
Unbelievable! Excellent research and writing! The gall of the hog kings, the farmers, and elected officials is absolutely disgraceful to humanity. The treatment of our environment, people (neighbors) and animals is appauling. It really wa as astonishing the total disregard some people can have for others and our world. How people can blatantly lie and purposefully mistreat others, I will never indetstdd as nd.
Thank goodness for people who stand up for themselves and fight for what is right. I’m also grateful for people with more means and abilities who fight for the rights of others. Amazing lawyers who worked so hard and tirelessly for the people are highlighted in the book of course.
After reading this book you certainly will appreciate your home, neighbors, and the great outdoors even more! Since Nc is my home, I’m thankful the hog kings were dethroned!!
Thank goodness for people who stand up for themselves and fight for what is right. I’m also grateful for people with more means and abilities who fight for the rights of others. Amazing lawyers who worked so hard and tirelessly for the people are highlighted in the book of course.
After reading this book you certainly will appreciate your home, neighbors, and the great outdoors even more! Since Nc is my home, I’m thankful the hog kings were dethroned!!
January 19, 2024
The story itself is excellent and interesting: the Smithfield corporate history, the look behind the curtain of the pork industry, the money and politics in NC, the longstanding inequality, segregation, and racism in Pork Country, and the satisfying win for a gritty underdog.
The main problem is the author (and editor). My two main issues:
1) The book is 500 pages long and intentionally strung out. This same story could have been told as effectively in half as many pages. The narrative (particularly in the litigation section) becomes repetitive and (at times) tiresome. I found myself asking “did I already read this part?” Shortening the book would have helped it to retain the urgency and interest that the book starts with.
2) The description of the various characters felt less like a true story and more like a morality play: everyone on the side of the plaintiffs is virtuous and everyone on the Smithfield side is morally bankrupt. It is egregiously overdone and becomes annoying and distracting. It is hard to understand how so much of that made it through the editors cuts.
Thanks to Mary Massary for the recommendation!
The main problem is the author (and editor). My two main issues:
1) The book is 500 pages long and intentionally strung out. This same story could have been told as effectively in half as many pages. The narrative (particularly in the litigation section) becomes repetitive and (at times) tiresome. I found myself asking “did I already read this part?” Shortening the book would have helped it to retain the urgency and interest that the book starts with.
2) The description of the various characters felt less like a true story and more like a morality play: everyone on the side of the plaintiffs is virtuous and everyone on the Smithfield side is morally bankrupt. It is egregiously overdone and becomes annoying and distracting. It is hard to understand how so much of that made it through the editors cuts.
Thanks to Mary Massary for the recommendation!
April 20, 2023
Nuisance lawsuits against North Carolina hog farmers do not seem the likeliest topic for a legal thriller, but this is actually a great read (or listen). Racial discrimination, capitalistic greed, bootlicking politicians, and a gun that literally sprays pig feces on farms until it’s unbearable for neighbors to be outside—and it’s all completely real.
The narration was a little repetitive and moralistic at times. The Black plaintiffs were presented as long-suffering angels. I wish they were given more attention compared with their lawyers, whose (very impressive and diligent) work was the main driver of the story.
Still worth the read or listen!
The narration was a little repetitive and moralistic at times. The Black plaintiffs were presented as long-suffering angels. I wish they were given more attention compared with their lawyers, whose (very impressive and diligent) work was the main driver of the story.
Still worth the read or listen!
July 7, 2022
I have always enjoyed Corban Addison's works of "social justice" fiction and picked up Wastelands based on that. His fictionalized stories have made me look at the world differently, from the clothes that I buy to the charities I donate to. Now, in Wastelands, I will be looking and questioning about the food on my plate! Wastelands is a true story and I thought that a rather thick book on a very complex legal case would make for dry reading. Not so! Mr. Addison pulls out "all the stops" in making this story jump out at you from the pages. Be prepared to nail bite, have your heartbeat quicken, bang your fist down in anger, wrinkle your nose in disgust (or even have your stomach churn and turn) and cheer for the men and women of Duplin county who were so egregiously wronged by big corporate farming. I couldn't sit still as I read Wastelands. It's more than a story of justice being served - it's very much a story of our society in general and how easily it is to have basic needs that we all take for granted taken away from us. You can tell that this story was a labour of love for Mr. Addison. I commend him for taking it on and sharing it with us.
July 27, 2022
Surprised how good this was. Story of “big agriculture,” Smithfield specifically, being sued for the hog waste they subjected homeowners to. I knew the book was popular at the moment, but it’s a genuinely great read about a terrible subject and describes the process of trying to bring a negligent corporation to justice.
Shelved as 'dnf'
March 4, 2024Feels like the author heavily used a thesaurus and tried to cram as many cultural references as possible into this book. With all the legal jargon and characters there are to keep track of already, it’s interesting at times and obviously important but I couldn’t get through it
Shelved as 'dnf'
November 27, 2022DNF @13%. Waaay too much backstory.
December 3, 2022
Though this book is non-fiction, it reads like a legal thriller! The good guys are really good and the bad guys, well, they make you want to stop eating bacon (almost). Truly, a story of David v. Goliath, and in the end, justice. Such a good read!
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