Emily Byrd: A turning point

Regarding the June 15 news article “Maker of meat substitute products to open plant in Garner”: As a native North Carolinian and graduate of UNC’s School of Journalism, I am familiar with our state’s long-running ties to animal agriculture. The opening of a plant-based meat factory in Garner represents a radical evolution of this piece of North Carolina’s history, and it marks a turning point in the state’s struggle to balance the power of Big Ag against ongoing environmental disasters.

Those living with hog waste lagoons in their backyards and poisoned rivers down the road are all too familiar with this cost-benefit analysis.

This new company – Improved Nature – will bring jobs and nutritious food and will never produce a pool of hog waste or a spill-induced fish kill. The future of food technology and meat production from plants rather than animals is arriving in North Carolina, and it’s only good news for our land, rivers, people and animals.

This story was originally published July 4, 2016 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Emily Byrd: A turning point."