Swine Country: A Community Polluted Fighting For Change
Project by Swine Country Documentary Team
Swine Country Documentary Team
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For decades, activists in eastern North Carolina have been fighting to clean up the pollution and corruption from large-scale hog and poultry farming. As the planet warms and legal protections vanish, can they save eastern North Carolina from disaster? And can they do it before the next hurricane?
Swine Country: A Community Polluted Fighting For Change
by Swine Country Documentary Team
Swine Country Documentary Team
Follow
For decades, activists in eastern North Carolina have been fighting to clean up the pollution and corruption from large-scale hog and poultry farming. As the planet warms and legal protections vanish, can they save eastern North Carolina from disaster? And can they do it before the next hurricane?
in partnership with
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Story
Mission Statement
Our film is the story of black, white, and Latino activists working together for political change. The Environmental Justice movement started in North Carolina, built on the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement. It is fundamentally about their potential to change politics, narratives, and lives.About The Project
Swine Country: A Community Polluted Fighting For Change is an unflinching look at the pollution and destruction left by the hog and poultry industries in eastern North Carolina, and activists' fight to hold them accountable. We listen deeply to our characters—organizers, farmers, scientists—and quickly learn that these aren't the quaint hog farms they remember from their childhoods. Instead, they're factories that raise thousands of animals in massive barns. And with 10 million pigs in North Carolina, concentrated almost entirely in the state's coastal plain, the waste isn't just piling up—it's running downstream.
Eastern North Carolina often only appears in the news when a hurricane hits, but poor people and people of color "Down East" live in a state of constant crisis. In 1999, Hurricane Floyd killed more than 50 people and millions of pigs, turkeys, and chickens, a tragedy that could never have reached that scale without lax regulations and deep racial and economic segregation. In the 18 years since Floyd, the industry has only grown and consolidated. The air and water are polluted with animal waste. People are getting sicker. By the time Hurricane Matthew hit in 2016, no changes had been made to the system and that disaster happened all over again.
The industry is always searching for the next place to do their business-as-usual. They've enlisted politicians to ease regulations, open new markets, and pass the buck to taxpayers to clean up their messes. Activists, however, refuse to lose this fight. Whether it's black-owned family land from Reconstruction or a cherished hunting spot, everyday people in southeastern North Carolina have too much to lose if this industry gets its way. Can an alliance between farmers and environmental justice activists take on the powers who profit from their suffering: the meat industry? And can they do it before the next storm?Swine Country started as a collaboration between REACH, an environmental justice organization in Duplin County, and co-producers Sol Weiner and Tom Clement. When they made the 20-minute Swine Country: The Fight For Clean Air and Water in Duplin County in 2012, they were inspired by the energy people across the state and country had for cleaning up Big Ag. That momentum has only grown since then. Groups like REACH and the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network have been working tirelessly to raise awareness and change laws, and not a moment too soon. The Trump administration has committed to giving big business carte blanche to pollute vulnerable communities. In response, more people than ever are coming together to find political solutions to environmental injustices. At a time like this, we need the activists in Swine Country to show us how to stick it to the powers-that-be and make real change.
Incentives
$10
Swine Country Shorts: Exclusive Video Access
For $10, we'll send you an access code to one of our mini-documentaries, which have featured everything from profiles on crooked legislators to footage of Tom and Sol doing the "Swine Country Jig!"
$20
Hog Manure Scratch 'N' Sniff + a Swine Country Short
For your $20 contribution we'll send you a Swine Country Hog Manure Scratch 'n' Sniff (plus digital access to a Swine Country Short!). Activists have said for years that the smell of hog waste is a powerful tool for activism—one sniff and you'll know what they mean!
$25
Interactive Movie Experience!
For $25 you will not only receive a digital copy of our film (upon completion), but your name will appear in the credits! Additionally, we'll send you a Swine Country Hog Manure Scratch 'N' Sniff.
$30
The Consciousness-Raiser Package
At $30 we'll give you not only a digital copy of the film (upon completion), but also: one of each of our stickers (the "Drain the Raleigh Hog Lagoon" bumper sticker and a Swine Country Hog Manure Scratch 'N' Sniff); a shoutout on our Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook pages; and your name in the credits!
$50
Digital Copy + All the Perks!
Contribute $50 and, in addition to a digital copy of Swine Country (upon completion), you will receive a "Drain the Raleigh Hog Lagoon" bumper sticker; a Swine Country Hog Manure Scratch 'N' Sniff; a social media shoutout on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram; and your name in the credits. It's all the perks, plus some!
$75
Movie Night Package
For $75, you will receive a digital copy of the film (upon completion), a Swine Country poster, and you will receive all of the perks listed above!
$100
Wrap Party Invitation
When we finish our film, you know we're going to celebrate—we'll be that much closer to cleaning up North Carolina! Let's get together to enjoy good friends, local beer, and the movement we're creating together. Once you're there, we'll send you home with a package of goodies that includes a poster, a bumper sticker, a Swine Country Hog Manure Scratch 'n' Sniff, and a handwritten Swine Country Haiku Thank You.
Claimed: 31 of 50
$250
Activist-Led Duplin County Tour
If you give $250, our friends at the Rural Empowerment Association for Community Help (REACH) will take you and 11 others on a Duplin County tour to see the landscape of southeastern North Carolina from the perspective of the people who live there. Afterwards, you are invited to REACH's monthly organizing meeting for conversation, dinner, and to see environmental justice organizing in action!
(This is a standalone perk and, unless noted otherwise, not included with higher-level donations.)Claimed: 4 of 12
$500
Private Screening
For your $500 contribution you will receieve the rights to show the film at a private screening (upon completion), and, if you live within 250 miles of Raleigh or Washington D.C., one of the producers will show up to co-host the event! This level of giving is perfect for people who have friends and family looking to get involved in the movement. A private screening and discussion get people fired up and ready to take action!
Claimed: 1 of 10
$1,000
Public Screening
If you are a member of an organization—or just know a ton of cool folks!—a donation of $1,000 will get you the rights to a public screening (upon completion), and co-producers Tom and Sol will be on hand to participate (if the event is within a 250 mile radius of Raleigh or Washington DC). This is a great way to enlist new Environmental Justice warriors for the fight ahead, and to promote your organization's work and commitment to this issue!
Claimed: 0 of 5
$2,500
Swine Country Team
This is your chance to join the movement, and let the world know that you're an agent of change! Your name will be in the credits as an official member of the Swine Country Team and, in addition, you'll receive all the perks above, PLUS an invitation to a special Swine Country Pig Pickin'! Come celebrate the work of artists, activists, and foodies who know that real North Carolina barbecue tastes better when it comes from happy pigs and happy people.
Claimed: 0 of 10
$5,000
Co-Executive Producer
This is your chance to be a Co-Executive Producer of Swine Country, the documentary that has polluters and politicians shaking in their boots! In addition to having your name in the credits, you will receive rights to hold a public screening with co-producers Tom and Sol on hand (applies to a 250-mile radius of either Raleigh or Washington DC), a spot on an activist-led tour of Duplin County, and two tickets to a screening of Swine Country at the festival of your choice (dependent on festival availability; travel and accommodations not included).
Claimed: 0 of 5
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Wishlist
Use the WishList to pledge cash and loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an incentive directly.
$10
Swine Country Shorts: Exclusive Video Access
For $10, we'll send you an access code to one of our mini-documentaries, which have featured everything from profiles on crooked legislators to footage of Tom and Sol doing the "Swine Country Jig!"
$20
Hog Manure Scratch 'N' Sniff + a Swine Country Short
For your $20 contribution we'll send you a Swine Country Hog Manure Scratch 'n' Sniff (plus digital access to a Swine Country Short!). Activists have said for years that the smell of hog waste is a powerful tool for activism—one sniff and you'll know what they mean!
$25
Interactive Movie Experience!
For $25 you will not only receive a digital copy of our film (upon completion), but your name will appear in the credits! Additionally, we'll send you a Swine Country Hog Manure Scratch 'N' Sniff.
$30
The Consciousness-Raiser Package
At $30 we'll give you not only a digital copy of the film (upon completion), but also: one of each of our stickers (the "Drain the Raleigh Hog Lagoon" bumper sticker and a Swine Country Hog Manure Scratch 'N' Sniff); a shoutout on our Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook pages; and your name in the credits!
$50
Digital Copy + All the Perks!
Contribute $50 and, in addition to a digital copy of Swine Country (upon completion), you will receive a "Drain the Raleigh Hog Lagoon" bumper sticker; a Swine Country Hog Manure Scratch 'N' Sniff; a social media shoutout on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram; and your name in the credits. It's all the perks, plus some!
$75
Movie Night Package
For $75, you will receive a digital copy of the film (upon completion), a Swine Country poster, and you will receive all of the perks listed above!
$100
Wrap Party Invitation
When we finish our film, you know we're going to celebrate—we'll be that much closer to cleaning up North Carolina! Let's get together to enjoy good friends, local beer, and the movement we're creating together. Once you're there, we'll send you home with a package of goodies that includes a poster, a bumper sticker, a Swine Country Hog Manure Scratch 'n' Sniff, and a handwritten Swine Country Haiku Thank You.
Claimed: 31 of 50
$250
Activist-Led Duplin County Tour
If you give $250, our friends at the Rural Empowerment Association for Community Help (REACH) will take you and 11 others on a Duplin County tour to see the landscape of southeastern North Carolina from the perspective of the people who live there. Afterwards, you are invited to REACH's monthly organizing meeting for conversation, dinner, and to see environmental justice organizing in action!
(This is a standalone perk and, unless noted otherwise, not included with higher-level donations.)Claimed: 4 of 12
$500
Private Screening
For your $500 contribution you will receieve the rights to show the film at a private screening (upon completion), and, if you live within 250 miles of Raleigh or Washington D.C., one of the producers will show up to co-host the event! This level of giving is perfect for people who have friends and family looking to get involved in the movement. A private screening and discussion get people fired up and ready to take action!
Claimed: 1 of 10
$1,000
Public Screening
If you are a member of an organization—or just know a ton of cool folks!—a donation of $1,000 will get you the rights to a public screening (upon completion), and co-producers Tom and Sol will be on hand to participate (if the event is within a 250 mile radius of Raleigh or Washington DC). This is a great way to enlist new Environmental Justice warriors for the fight ahead, and to promote your organization's work and commitment to this issue!
Claimed: 0 of 5
$2,500
Swine Country Team
This is your chance to join the movement, and let the world know that you're an agent of change! Your name will be in the credits as an official member of the Swine Country Team and, in addition, you'll receive all the perks above, PLUS an invitation to a special Swine Country Pig Pickin'! Come celebrate the work of artists, activists, and foodies who know that real North Carolina barbecue tastes better when it comes from happy pigs and happy people.
Claimed: 0 of 10
$5,000
Co-Executive Producer
This is your chance to be a Co-Executive Producer of Swine Country, the documentary that has polluters and politicians shaking in their boots! In addition to having your name in the credits, you will receive rights to hold a public screening with co-producers Tom and Sol on hand (applies to a 250-mile radius of either Raleigh or Washington DC), a spot on an activist-led tour of Duplin County, and two tickets to a screening of Swine Country at the festival of your choice (dependent on festival availability; travel and accommodations not included).
Claimed: 0 of 5
- Updates
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Current Team
About This Team
Tom Clement is a director of photography (DP) and editor based in Washington D.C.. Since 2013 he has worked as a freelance DP and editor for several D.C. and New York production companies and ad agencies. Additionally, he produces content directly for documentary, non-profit, and corporate clients. Beyond his commercial work, Clement offers his skills in shooting, editing, and producing pro bono for non-profit production company, Stone Soup Films, which donates professional marketing content to underfunded frontline non-profits in the D.C. metro area. To see work samples please visit www.clementcinema.com.
Sol Weiner is an oral historian and documentary producer based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Originally from San Antonio and Dallas, Texas, his film, audio, and writing work focus on racial, economic, and environmental justice organizing in the U.S. South. In 2012, Weiner co-produced his first documentary film, Swine Country: The Fight For Clean Air and Water in Duplin County, North Carolina as an undergraduate at Guilford College in Greensboro, where he received a B.S. in Community and Justice Studies. He also holds an M.A. in Folklore and American Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His writing has been featured in Scalawag, Bit + Grain, North Carolina Folklore Journal, NC Food, and Southern Things. -
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