Want to stop a factory farm in your area and help us help you end the intensive livestock system for good?
We’ve spent years supporting everyday people combat the spread of factory farming in their local areas – here's what we think you need to challenge new developments, report environmental harms and breaches, and build a local campaign for change.
1 Get informed
The intensification of farming is often justified by claims of increased food security, rural development, and consumer demand for meat. In reality, it’s:
- Feed-intensive, relying on soy imports from places like South America where it’s linked to deforestation, land grabs, and violence to Indigenous communities.
- Land-hungry, using over half of UK cropland.
- Job-poor, heavily automated and fewer rural jobs.
- Vulnerable, tied to fragile global supply chains.
We could grow more food at home, employ more people, and reduce our emissions by investing in horticulture, mixed farming, and rewilding.
More about the impact of factory farming on rivers can be found in our blog.
2 Find out what’s been built near you
Go to your local planning portal to discover planning applications for factory farms in your area. Here, you will be able to see the documents attached to the application. If you look carefully enough you will be able to find the size, proposed plan and environmental statement.
Stink or Swim shows the approximate location of all the factory farms in the UK, and the corporation behind them, so you can see if you are in a factory farm hotspot.
OUR TIP
You might need to type in ‘pig’ ‘poultry’ ‘intensive’ ‘farm’, ‘livestock’ or similar into the planning portal to get results if you don’t already know the application number or postcode. Try a combination of these to be sure you don’t miss one.
3 Object to a planning application for a new factory farm
If a factory farm is proposed in your area, you can object by submitting a comment on the planning portal or emailing the planning officer directly. We've written quite a few of these now and have a solid template you can use, just make sure to edit it with local details
- Take a look at our example objection letters.
- Read our planning objection template.
- Use it to form your own objection.
- Send to your local planning authority via their portal or email.
Don’t forget to set a reminder for when the consultation closes! If the application goes to committee, you can also request to speak and make your case in person.
OUR TIP
Focus on material planning considerations - these are the issues councils are legally allowed to consider in making their decisions.
Valid material considerations
- Local Plan policies (check your council's Local Plan documents).
- National Planning Policy. Each UK country has its own policy, and there’s a guide to useful parts of each one for the purposes of factory farming in our technical guides for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
- Impact on landscape, traffic, noise, odour, water, public health.
- Proximity to residential areas, schools, or nature sites.
- Inadequate environmental mitigation e.g. missing GHG reporting, no biodiversity net gain. This is how we secured our Methwold win, so if you can’t spot a full and comprehensive climate change assessment in their Environmental Statement, let us know.
Avoid (these won’t be considered)
- Personal dislike of the developer (however justified!).
- General objections to farming or meat.
- Property values.
- Animal welfare (though hopefully this could be changing soon).
Planning FAQs
We’ve answered the most common questions about how the process works and how to challenge it.
4 Take action against a factory farm that’s in breach of regulation
Astonishingly, units are being built without proper planning permission under the assumption that the council will nod the application through retrospectively. If you suspect this is happening, ask the council planning team if they have investigated the breach, and issued a Planning Contravention Notice. Document what you have seen and write to your councillor and MP.
If something looks or smells off, it probably is. Our investigation with Agtivist and Feedback found that there were over 700 breaches of environmental regulations by factory farms in East Anglia alone. Report any concerns to the Environment Agency (you can use our template if you like).
OUR TIP
Tell us – we're keeping track and may be able to help.
5 Build a local campaign
Opposing an intensive livestock unit can feel overwhelming but you don’t have to do it alone. Organised communities have been the key factor community organised has been key to stopping these developments across the UK.
OUR TIPS
Start a local group (or join an existing one). And talk to your neighbours - knock on doors, drop a leaflet, or start a WhatsApp group.
Lots of communities organise on Facebook, so try searching for your area + the name of the development “residents” or “campaign See if there’s a local group already working on this issue or similar, including:
- A local group that’s part of the Community Planning Alliance.
- A group working on river pollution.
- Your local Wildlife Trust or Friends of the Earth Local Action Group.
6 Contact your local councillor or MP
Write to your local councillor and MP if you have concerns about a proposed or existing factory farm. People take notice when an MP takes a stand.
OUR TIP
Use our MP email template to get started.
7 Speak to local press
An interested local journalists can catapult a campaign, put pressure on decision-makers and help you find allies nearby. Contact the News desk at your local paper and tell them what’s going on.
OUR TIP
Offer to give them a quote or connect them with others affected.
8 Connect with us
Don’t be a stranger! We can support your local organising, share your story nationally, and link you up with others doing similar work.
Email: foodfortheplanet@sustainweb.org
Find out more
Menu for change
Industrial chicken farm. Credit: Photoarte: Shutterstock
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