A Factory Farm Force - U.S. Multinational Smithfield Moves into Europe

From its humble beginnings as a father-and-son ham-curing operation in rural America more than 70 years ago, Smithfield Foods has grown into a 7.75 billion Euro-per-year, multinational meat conglomerate with operations in 13 countries on three continents. Of late, Virginia-based Smithfield has been expanding aggressively into Eastern Europe, where its operations have stirred controversy because of their threats to local farming economies, the environment and animal welfare.