The count continues to grow with more reports of food processing facilities being damaged or destroyed by fire or explosions. .This week alone, a number of fires have killed 115 cows and nearly 1,200 pigs at different farms in Quebec..In April and May, the Western Standard published several exclusive articles digging into a string of destroyed food processing facilities since 2020..READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Food shortages magnified by string of destroyed food processing facilities.READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Destruction of food plants a global phenomenon.READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: More destroyed food plants, avian flu continue to fuel food shortage fears.The impact on the food supply chain due to these incidents, along with the Russia-Ukraine conflict, a baby food shortage in the US, an uptick in cyber attacks on food processors, and a myriad of other supply chain issues, has contributed to concerns the world could be headed for a food shortage. .Fact-checkers have disputed claims food plants are being deliberately destroyed around the world. .READ MORE: Fact-checkers dispute claims food plants deliberately destroyed in wake of two new fires.As quickly as the claims began to circulate on social media, fact-checkers and government-funded media worked to debunk them as conspiracies. .The Western Standard has compiled a list of confirmed instances where food processing facilities have been damaged or destroyed in North America and around the world since 2020, including the most recent fires in Quebec..July 7, 2022 — 115 cows were killed in a large fire on a Quebec dairy farm, as reported by The Local Report. Only 10 cows were able to be saved by firefighters. .July 4, 2022 — Three fires broke out in the span of a few hours in the Saint-Hyacinthe region in southwestern Quebec, one of which killed nearly 1,200 pigs, reported Le Journal De Montreal. .May 28, 2022 — A commercial egg farm in Minnesota caught fire killing more than 200,000 chickens, as reported by Fox News. The Forsman Farms facility in Wright County suffered significant damage from the fire which nearly destroyed its main building..May 28, 2022 — Fire crews from several counties in Pennsylvania responded to a fire at a chicken house in northwest Berks. The cause of the fire has not been released, as reported by Reading Eagle..May 25, 2022 — An explosion and fire was reported at a 100-year-old grain silo in Prosser, Wash. destroying the silo and quickly spread to its neighbouring feed and supply store, M & E Seed and Grain, as reported by NBC local affiliate KNDO 23 KNDU 25. .May 23, 2022 — London, Ont. firefighters responded to an involved fire at a Cargill chicken processing plant. Although the fire caused significant damage to the plant, no injuries were reported and the cause is still under investigation, reported by WATTPoultry.com. .May 2, 2022 — Fire damaged a food processing plant in Fresno, Calif., as reported by ABC affiliate KFSN30. .May 1, 2022 — Two chicken houses caught fire in Jones County, Miss. Both houses were complete engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived and the roof had already collapsed, as reported by CBS affiliate WHLT..April 30, 2022 — Perdue Farms, a grain processing and storage facility in Chesapeake, Va. caught fire, as reported by WTKR News. .April 26, 2022 — Crews battled a large fire at Riverway Foods, a sausage factory in the UK, as reported by the BBC..April 25, 2022 — More than 43,000 chickens died in a massive fire that destroyed four chicken houses on a farm in the Dutch town of Heusden, according to World Today News..April 21, 2022 — A small plane crashed shortly after takeoff into a General Mills plant just east of Atlanta, Ga. Two occupants of the plane were killed in the crash, as reported by the New York Post..April 18, 2022 — A massive fire destroyed parts of the Azure Standard Headquarters in Oregon, a company that self-describes as “the USA’s largest independent food distributor.” The company said it lost its fruit packing and carbo product facility, as reported by Vision Times..April 14, 2022 — Firefighters contended with a massive blaze at Taylor Farms packaged salad plant in Salinas, Calif. — a key agricultural region south of San Francisco, as reported by KTLA..April 14, 2022 — An airplane crashed into Idaho’s Gem State Processing facility — a plant said to process 18,000 acres worth of potatoes each year. The pilot of the plane did not survive, however, no employees were injured, reported Vision Times..April 13, 2022 — Firefighters from several departments in Maine helped battle a massive fire that destroyed East Conway Beef & Pork butcher shop and meat market in Center Conway, N.H. Investigators did not indicate what caused the fire, reported ABC affiliate WMTW..March 31, 2022 — A blaze at the Texas-based Rio Fresh Inc. severely damaged a large portion of the onion processing facility, as reported by The Packer. .March 28, 2022 — A fire at the Maricopa Food Pantry, a food bank in Arizona, saw 50,000 pounds worth of food burn up, as reported by CBS affiliate 3TV. .March 24, 2022 — The Penobscot McCrum potato processing facility in Belfast, Maine, was destroyed by fire. Officials believe a deep-fryer was behind the fire, as reported by ABC affiliate WMTW News 8..March 24, 2022 — A large barn in Eyota, Minn., holding 2,500 hogs caught fire. The building and all the hogs were believed to be a total loss of more than $900,000, as reported by NBC affiliate KTTC. .March 23, 2022 — Fire crews and paramedics responded after an explosion at the Centre de valorisation de l’aliment de l’Estrie, an industrial food preparation and processing facility in Sherbrooke, Que. Five people were injured in the explosion that turned into a major fire, reported CBC. .March 20, 2022 — Around 8,500 chickens were killed in a massive fire at a poultry farm in Tamil Nadu, India, as reported by India Today. .March 16, 2022 — Arkansas Times reported a major fire that forced the closure of the Nestle plant in Jonesboro, Ark. The plant makes frozen foods, particularly Hot Pockets..March 15, 2022 — About 2,000 pigs were killed following a barn fire in West Lincoln, Ont. Damages were estimated at $1.3 million, as reported by CBC. .March 3, 2022 — A three-alarm barn fire killed more than 2,000 hogs in Darke County, Ohio. WHIO TV reported the barn was completely destroyed in the blaze killing all the animals inside. .February 22, 2022 — A fire sparked by a boiler explosion at a potato chip plant south of Hermiston, Ore., sent several people to hospital with minor injuries. The Shearer’s Food plant, as reported by The Oregonian, supplies much of the Western US with potato and corn chips..February 16, 2022 — A fire caused the Louis Dreyfus Company’s Claypool, Ind., soybean processing and biodiesel plant — the largest fully integrated soybean processing plant in the US — to suspend production, as reported by Reuters..February 3, 2022 — A portion of Wisconsin River Meats was destroyed by fire, according to Channel 3000 News. The Mauston-based company said the “old portion” of its plant was a total loss from the fire..January 29, 2022 — A fire at a poultry farm in Kerala, India, killed over 2,500 chickens, as reported by the Times of India. .January 18, 2022 — Dozens of pigs were killed and damage was pegged at $800,000 after a fire gutted a large swine barn near Mitchell, Ont., reported The London Free Press..January 13, 2022 — Firefighters responded to a fire at the Cargill-Nutrena plant in Lecompte, La. The fire took more than 12 hours to put out, as reported by KALB-TV..January 7, 2022 — A blaze at a poultry processing plant in the Hamilton region of Ontario caused extensive damage, but no injuries were reported. The multiple-alarm fire, as reported by Global News, will cost millions in repairs..December 12, 2021 — A fire caused more than $100,000 in damages to a San Antonio food processing plant. KTSA-107.1 reported there were no injuries as a result of the fire..December 11, 2021 — A poultry farm in Divulapitiya, Sri Lanka, was destroyed by a blaze that killed more than 8,000 chickens, as reported by News First..November 29, 2021 — A fire engulfed the Maid-Rite Steak Co. food processing plant in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, as reported by ABC affiliate news station WNEP. .November 24, 2021 — Massive fire destroyed a pig farm in Northern Ireland and killed a large number of pigs, as reported by the UK's News Letter. .October 10, 2021 — A large fire at a Fermanagh poultry farm in Northern Ireland killed 16,000 birds, as reported by That’s Farming..September 28, 2021 — A large fire broke out at a Chilean food processing plant. Although no injuries were reported, several crews were needed to battle the blaze, as reported by La Tercera..September 13, 2021 — A fire at the JBS USA beef processing plant in Grand Island, Neb. halted operations in the facility that typically processes about 6,000 head of cattle daily. Although the fire damaged a portion of the facility, the company said it didn't impact the primary production area, as reported by Reuters..August 23, 2021 — Another raging fire severely damaged the Patak Meat Production company in Austell, Ga., as reported by Channel 2 Action News in Atlanta..July 30, 2021 — Firefighters battled a large fire at the River Valley Ingredients plant in Hanceville, Al. The cause of the fire, as reported by NBC affiliate WVTM-TV, was unknown..July 25, 2021 — Another fire at the Kellogg factory in Memphis, Tenn. was determined to be an accident, reported Fox 13 Memphis..July 9, 2021 — A deadly fire at a Bangladesh food processing factory killed at least 52 people, as reported by Al Jazeera..July 2, 2021 — Another fire at a poultry house in East Yorkshire, England killed 50,000 chickens. The fire was said to be caused by accidental ignition, as reported by the Daily Mail..May 20, 2021 — Dozens of cattle were killed in a raging fire at an agriculture building near Kars, a rural Ottawa village, as reported by CBC. .April 29, 2021 — A fire ignited inside the Smithfield Foods pork processing plant in Monmouth, Ill., where 3% of the US fresh pork supply is produced, as reported by The Register-Mail. .April 21, 2021 — A fire killed nearly 3,000 chickens at Baffoni's Poultry Farm in Johnston,R.I., as reported by local station WPRI..March 30, 2021 — More than 55,000 pigs were killed after a fire broke out at a German pig farm. USA Today reported the cause of the blaze was unclear..January 11, 2021 — A fire destroyed meat manufacturer and packager Deli Star’s production facility in Fayetteville, Ill., as reported by NBC affiliate KSDK..December 17, 2020 — A fire killed as many as 240,000 chickens at the Cal-Maine Foods farm in Florida. The Hill reported two huge barns were lost in the blaze..October 15, 2020 — Fire crews battled a blaze at the Banham Poultry factory in the UK, as reported by Eastern Daily Press..October 14, 2020 — A fire destroyed Rainbow Fresh, a South Australian vegetable business. The blaze destroyed an estimated $2.5 million worth of sheds and equipment, according to ABC News..October 7, 2020 — Another fire at a Northern Ireland egg factory was reported, according to the Belfast Telegraph..September 13, 2020 — Nearly 6,000 chickens were killed in Co Tyrone farm fire, also in Northern Ireland, as reported by the Belfast Telegraph..September 8, 2020 — Another fire destroyed Glenmarshal Pedigree Pig’s farrowing house (maternity ward) on a farm in Northern Ireland killing roughly 2,000 pigs, according to the BBC..August 29, 2020 — A fire destroys Kent Foods warehouse in England. Known as one of Europe’s largest independent suppliers of sugar, sweeteners, dairy products, oils and fats to the food manufacturing industry, as reported by Dairy Reporter..August 24, 2020 — A fire gutted an iconic bread factory in northern Sweden. At the time, the facility baked nearly 41,000 tonnes of bread each year, as reported by The LocalSE..August 5, 2020 — A massive blast at the harbour in Beirut, Lebanon, destroyed 85% of the city’s grain silos, as reported by Fox News..July 3, 2020 — A massive explosion at Tilbury Port in Essex, England, partially destroyed the roof of a grain store. The BBC reported the blast was caused by a dust explosion..May 3, 2020 — The Kekén pork processing plant in Tixpéual, Mexico, caught fire, as reported by Yucatan Magazine. No injuries were reported..January 27, 2020 — About 34,000 chickens were lost in two poultry farm fires within 24 hours of each other. One fire happened in North Carolina, the other in Virginia, as reported by Watt Poultry.
The count continues to grow with more reports of food processing facilities being damaged or destroyed by fire or explosions. .This week alone, a number of fires have killed 115 cows and nearly 1,200 pigs at different farms in Quebec..In April and May, the Western Standard published several exclusive articles digging into a string of destroyed food processing facilities since 2020..READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Food shortages magnified by string of destroyed food processing facilities.READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Destruction of food plants a global phenomenon.READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: More destroyed food plants, avian flu continue to fuel food shortage fears.The impact on the food supply chain due to these incidents, along with the Russia-Ukraine conflict, a baby food shortage in the US, an uptick in cyber attacks on food processors, and a myriad of other supply chain issues, has contributed to concerns the world could be headed for a food shortage. .Fact-checkers have disputed claims food plants are being deliberately destroyed around the world. .READ MORE: Fact-checkers dispute claims food plants deliberately destroyed in wake of two new fires.As quickly as the claims began to circulate on social media, fact-checkers and government-funded media worked to debunk them as conspiracies. .The Western Standard has compiled a list of confirmed instances where food processing facilities have been damaged or destroyed in North America and around the world since 2020, including the most recent fires in Quebec..July 7, 2022 — 115 cows were killed in a large fire on a Quebec dairy farm, as reported by The Local Report. Only 10 cows were able to be saved by firefighters. .July 4, 2022 — Three fires broke out in the span of a few hours in the Saint-Hyacinthe region in southwestern Quebec, one of which killed nearly 1,200 pigs, reported Le Journal De Montreal. .May 28, 2022 — A commercial egg farm in Minnesota caught fire killing more than 200,000 chickens, as reported by Fox News. The Forsman Farms facility in Wright County suffered significant damage from the fire which nearly destroyed its main building..May 28, 2022 — Fire crews from several counties in Pennsylvania responded to a fire at a chicken house in northwest Berks. The cause of the fire has not been released, as reported by Reading Eagle..May 25, 2022 — An explosion and fire was reported at a 100-year-old grain silo in Prosser, Wash. destroying the silo and quickly spread to its neighbouring feed and supply store, M & E Seed and Grain, as reported by NBC local affiliate KNDO 23 KNDU 25. .May 23, 2022 — London, Ont. firefighters responded to an involved fire at a Cargill chicken processing plant. Although the fire caused significant damage to the plant, no injuries were reported and the cause is still under investigation, reported by WATTPoultry.com. .May 2, 2022 — Fire damaged a food processing plant in Fresno, Calif., as reported by ABC affiliate KFSN30. .May 1, 2022 — Two chicken houses caught fire in Jones County, Miss. Both houses were complete engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived and the roof had already collapsed, as reported by CBS affiliate WHLT..April 30, 2022 — Perdue Farms, a grain processing and storage facility in Chesapeake, Va. caught fire, as reported by WTKR News. .April 26, 2022 — Crews battled a large fire at Riverway Foods, a sausage factory in the UK, as reported by the BBC..April 25, 2022 — More than 43,000 chickens died in a massive fire that destroyed four chicken houses on a farm in the Dutch town of Heusden, according to World Today News..April 21, 2022 — A small plane crashed shortly after takeoff into a General Mills plant just east of Atlanta, Ga. Two occupants of the plane were killed in the crash, as reported by the New York Post..April 18, 2022 — A massive fire destroyed parts of the Azure Standard Headquarters in Oregon, a company that self-describes as “the USA’s largest independent food distributor.” The company said it lost its fruit packing and carbo product facility, as reported by Vision Times..April 14, 2022 — Firefighters contended with a massive blaze at Taylor Farms packaged salad plant in Salinas, Calif. — a key agricultural region south of San Francisco, as reported by KTLA..April 14, 2022 — An airplane crashed into Idaho’s Gem State Processing facility — a plant said to process 18,000 acres worth of potatoes each year. The pilot of the plane did not survive, however, no employees were injured, reported Vision Times..April 13, 2022 — Firefighters from several departments in Maine helped battle a massive fire that destroyed East Conway Beef & Pork butcher shop and meat market in Center Conway, N.H. Investigators did not indicate what caused the fire, reported ABC affiliate WMTW..March 31, 2022 — A blaze at the Texas-based Rio Fresh Inc. severely damaged a large portion of the onion processing facility, as reported by The Packer. .March 28, 2022 — A fire at the Maricopa Food Pantry, a food bank in Arizona, saw 50,000 pounds worth of food burn up, as reported by CBS affiliate 3TV. .March 24, 2022 — The Penobscot McCrum potato processing facility in Belfast, Maine, was destroyed by fire. Officials believe a deep-fryer was behind the fire, as reported by ABC affiliate WMTW News 8..March 24, 2022 — A large barn in Eyota, Minn., holding 2,500 hogs caught fire. The building and all the hogs were believed to be a total loss of more than $900,000, as reported by NBC affiliate KTTC. .March 23, 2022 — Fire crews and paramedics responded after an explosion at the Centre de valorisation de l’aliment de l’Estrie, an industrial food preparation and processing facility in Sherbrooke, Que. Five people were injured in the explosion that turned into a major fire, reported CBC. .March 20, 2022 — Around 8,500 chickens were killed in a massive fire at a poultry farm in Tamil Nadu, India, as reported by India Today. .March 16, 2022 — Arkansas Times reported a major fire that forced the closure of the Nestle plant in Jonesboro, Ark. The plant makes frozen foods, particularly Hot Pockets..March 15, 2022 — About 2,000 pigs were killed following a barn fire in West Lincoln, Ont. Damages were estimated at $1.3 million, as reported by CBC. .March 3, 2022 — A three-alarm barn fire killed more than 2,000 hogs in Darke County, Ohio. WHIO TV reported the barn was completely destroyed in the blaze killing all the animals inside. .February 22, 2022 — A fire sparked by a boiler explosion at a potato chip plant south of Hermiston, Ore., sent several people to hospital with minor injuries. The Shearer’s Food plant, as reported by The Oregonian, supplies much of the Western US with potato and corn chips..February 16, 2022 — A fire caused the Louis Dreyfus Company’s Claypool, Ind., soybean processing and biodiesel plant — the largest fully integrated soybean processing plant in the US — to suspend production, as reported by Reuters..February 3, 2022 — A portion of Wisconsin River Meats was destroyed by fire, according to Channel 3000 News. The Mauston-based company said the “old portion” of its plant was a total loss from the fire..January 29, 2022 — A fire at a poultry farm in Kerala, India, killed over 2,500 chickens, as reported by the Times of India. .January 18, 2022 — Dozens of pigs were killed and damage was pegged at $800,000 after a fire gutted a large swine barn near Mitchell, Ont., reported The London Free Press..January 13, 2022 — Firefighters responded to a fire at the Cargill-Nutrena plant in Lecompte, La. The fire took more than 12 hours to put out, as reported by KALB-TV..January 7, 2022 — A blaze at a poultry processing plant in the Hamilton region of Ontario caused extensive damage, but no injuries were reported. The multiple-alarm fire, as reported by Global News, will cost millions in repairs..December 12, 2021 — A fire caused more than $100,000 in damages to a San Antonio food processing plant. KTSA-107.1 reported there were no injuries as a result of the fire..December 11, 2021 — A poultry farm in Divulapitiya, Sri Lanka, was destroyed by a blaze that killed more than 8,000 chickens, as reported by News First..November 29, 2021 — A fire engulfed the Maid-Rite Steak Co. food processing plant in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, as reported by ABC affiliate news station WNEP. .November 24, 2021 — Massive fire destroyed a pig farm in Northern Ireland and killed a large number of pigs, as reported by the UK's News Letter. .October 10, 2021 — A large fire at a Fermanagh poultry farm in Northern Ireland killed 16,000 birds, as reported by That’s Farming..September 28, 2021 — A large fire broke out at a Chilean food processing plant. Although no injuries were reported, several crews were needed to battle the blaze, as reported by La Tercera..September 13, 2021 — A fire at the JBS USA beef processing plant in Grand Island, Neb. halted operations in the facility that typically processes about 6,000 head of cattle daily. Although the fire damaged a portion of the facility, the company said it didn't impact the primary production area, as reported by Reuters..August 23, 2021 — Another raging fire severely damaged the Patak Meat Production company in Austell, Ga., as reported by Channel 2 Action News in Atlanta..July 30, 2021 — Firefighters battled a large fire at the River Valley Ingredients plant in Hanceville, Al. The cause of the fire, as reported by NBC affiliate WVTM-TV, was unknown..July 25, 2021 — Another fire at the Kellogg factory in Memphis, Tenn. was determined to be an accident, reported Fox 13 Memphis..July 9, 2021 — A deadly fire at a Bangladesh food processing factory killed at least 52 people, as reported by Al Jazeera..July 2, 2021 — Another fire at a poultry house in East Yorkshire, England killed 50,000 chickens. The fire was said to be caused by accidental ignition, as reported by the Daily Mail..May 20, 2021 — Dozens of cattle were killed in a raging fire at an agriculture building near Kars, a rural Ottawa village, as reported by CBC. .April 29, 2021 — A fire ignited inside the Smithfield Foods pork processing plant in Monmouth, Ill., where 3% of the US fresh pork supply is produced, as reported by The Register-Mail. .April 21, 2021 — A fire killed nearly 3,000 chickens at Baffoni's Poultry Farm in Johnston,R.I., as reported by local station WPRI..March 30, 2021 — More than 55,000 pigs were killed after a fire broke out at a German pig farm. USA Today reported the cause of the blaze was unclear..January 11, 2021 — A fire destroyed meat manufacturer and packager Deli Star’s production facility in Fayetteville, Ill., as reported by NBC affiliate KSDK..December 17, 2020 — A fire killed as many as 240,000 chickens at the Cal-Maine Foods farm in Florida. The Hill reported two huge barns were lost in the blaze..October 15, 2020 — Fire crews battled a blaze at the Banham Poultry factory in the UK, as reported by Eastern Daily Press..October 14, 2020 — A fire destroyed Rainbow Fresh, a South Australian vegetable business. The blaze destroyed an estimated $2.5 million worth of sheds and equipment, according to ABC News..October 7, 2020 — Another fire at a Northern Ireland egg factory was reported, according to the Belfast Telegraph..September 13, 2020 — Nearly 6,000 chickens were killed in Co Tyrone farm fire, also in Northern Ireland, as reported by the Belfast Telegraph..September 8, 2020 — Another fire destroyed Glenmarshal Pedigree Pig’s farrowing house (maternity ward) on a farm in Northern Ireland killing roughly 2,000 pigs, according to the BBC..August 29, 2020 — A fire destroys Kent Foods warehouse in England. Known as one of Europe’s largest independent suppliers of sugar, sweeteners, dairy products, oils and fats to the food manufacturing industry, as reported by Dairy Reporter..August 24, 2020 — A fire gutted an iconic bread factory in northern Sweden. At the time, the facility baked nearly 41,000 tonnes of bread each year, as reported by The LocalSE..August 5, 2020 — A massive blast at the harbour in Beirut, Lebanon, destroyed 85% of the city’s grain silos, as reported by Fox News..July 3, 2020 — A massive explosion at Tilbury Port in Essex, England, partially destroyed the roof of a grain store. The BBC reported the blast was caused by a dust explosion..May 3, 2020 — The Kekén pork processing plant in Tixpéual, Mexico, caught fire, as reported by Yucatan Magazine. No injuries were reported..January 27, 2020 — About 34,000 chickens were lost in two poultry farm fires within 24 hours of each other. One fire happened in North Carolina, the other in Virginia, as reported by Watt Poultry.
