See a Farm Convert Pig Poop to Electricity

A few concerned hog farmers are exploring solutions to reduce the environmental impact of their farm waste and even produce electricity. Video.

From the air, the place where bacon comes from is a quilt of fields and woods crossed by roads and winding creeks.

On an overcast day in September, I was buzzing over eastern North Carolina's flat coastal plain in a single-prop Piper Arrow with retired riverkeeper Rick Dove and pilot Bob Epting. From an altitude of 1,200 feet (366 meters), we gazed down at the land of hogs: fields in every direction dotted with long, metal-roofed barns housing thousands of animals—and, shimmering in the faint sunlight, the pink ponds that held their waste.

The animals were destined to become honey-cured ham, bologna, smoked sausage, pulled pork, pork chops, bacon bits, and more. The meat would be shipped all over the world.

But before

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