Little Red Barns: Hiding the Truth, from Farm to Fable

by Will Potter

Little Red Barns is a groundbreaking investigation of factory farms and the unprecedented measures being taken to hide their impact — on animals, public health, and the environment — from the public.

Will Potter had planned to write a book about a troubling form of censorship, namely, a host of new "ag-gag" laws that criminalize photographers and journalists as terrorists for their efforts to expose abuses on factory farms. But his work soon expanded into a much larger investigation of a nexus of political corruption and corporate power that works to silence protest and to obscure reality with propaganda. What emerges is a chilling account of the secret campaigns of weaponized storytelling being used to prevent us from seeing the ecological, public health, and authoritarian threats that these farms represent.

Potter's journalistic practice of bearing witness took him to places he had never expected, from factory farms to fascist groups, from whistleblowing to censorship laws, political corruption and propaganda campaigns, and the book is an immersive, engaging personal account of the ups and downs of his journey. A well-woven tale of investigative reporting, archival research, photography, and memoir, Little Red Barns is about how the biggest industries on the planet hide from the public and secretly campaign to silence protest. The little red barns are a case study, and a warning for anyone concerned about the right to protest and hold corporations accountable.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Food, Environment, Animals, Vegan, Social Science

384 pages, Paperback

Published July 8, 2025

About the author

Will Potter is an award-winning investigative journalist and author, and a leading international voice challenging attacks on civil liberties in the name of fighting "terrorism." His work has been featured by the world’s top media outlets, including The Washington Post, Foreign Policy, and Rolling Stone, and his investigations have overturned criminal prosecutions and helped strike down censorship laws. Will was the first investigative journalist to be named a TED Senior Fellow, and has addressed governmental bodies including the U.S. Congress, Australian Parliament, and Council of Europe. He is the author of Green Is the New Red, which exposed the FBI’s targeting of protest groups. His new book, Little Red Barns: Hiding the truth from farm to fable, is a 10-year investigation of factory farms and fascism. Will’s journalism and scholarship have been heavily influenced by growing up in the hardcore punk scene, and he has collaborated with bands including Rise Against. He was previously a visiting professor at the University of Michigan, and was named the distinguished journalist-in-residence at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. He was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas.

Reviews

[Corvus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a long time follower of Will Potter. His old site Green is the New Red was a bit of a companion to me in my organizing days before my health knocked me down too much. Not only did I often feel isolated from other leftists who were frequently unwilling to face exploitation of other animals and environmental destruction as important issues, it was just a scary time all around existing through the height of the green scare. Maybe that is not a correct way to frame it, as the damage has been done, the laws like the AETA and Ag-Gag still exist, and people are still being charged with "terrorism" for things like rescuing abused animals or property destruction with no harm to the living. Back then, animal and earth activists were labeled the #1 domestic t-word threat in the USA and the feds came down on these movements like a never-ending avalanche. There are still people languishing in prison from outlandish sentences, ones who were returned to high security prison for blogging, and others who were freed due to entrapment and the state withholding evidence (but not before their lives were torn apart.) The surveillance at the time was so suffocating that even the most banal and unthreatening actions such as blogging about animal suffering or having a completely legal sidewalk protest would still attract feds. I suppose since then I have seen the feds acknowledge that nazis killing people might be a tad more important than people rescuing chickens or filming animal torture, but it is still bad.

It was exciting to see Potter put out his newest book Little Red Barns as it is an important catalogue of past and present that is very relevant to the current dystopian state of things, especially in the USA. Animal agribusiness industries have brilliant front groups and advertising that has allowed them to frequently skirt the response to blatant violence towards other animals, decimation of neighborhoods they use up and destroy, and being top causes of climate change. The myth of humane slaughter and "family" farms is a big part of that as well as the utilization of wealth to influence political action. To salvage my mental health, I chose to limit my consumption of media that speaks of harm to animals in detail many years ago. I make few exceptions. Reading this book in its entirety is one of those. Do not misunderstand me- this is not simply a book of horrific descriptions of abuse. But, there are some descriptions woven throughout the text as it is impossible to convey the reality without mention of it. Potter describes his own awakenings to this info and encourages the reader not to look away.

There is a frank discussion about media saturation with violence. When should we witness harm? What purpose does it serve? When is it responsible to look away? When does it motivate us to act and when does it desensitize us? I often see this discussion about harm to humans, but this is one of the rare times I have seen it addressed regarding harm to other animals as well. Potter is not the first, but brings it to another audience.

Given my aforementioned history, I expected to know a lot of the content in this book already. I lived through many of the things he discusses. I thought I would pick up some new info here and there while enjoying Potter's work as always. This book was a much bigger experience than that for me. There were facts like learning that the AETA was actually written in part by animal exploitation industry ceos that should not have surprised me but did. I always knew these powers were huge but did not realize they were actually writing the laws as well. I also didn't realize just how absolutely horrific and disgusting the treatment of people living in neighborhoods where these farms exist is. I knew about the shit sprayed into the air at times, the poor air and water quality, and other forms of hell. I did not realize you literally have to use your windshield wipers to see past the feces while driving and that you can never open your windows. Potter visiting these places, interviewing people, and cataloguing the experience was something I had never read before.

Potter also breaks down all of the arguments in favor of exploitation of farmed animals (and all of the resulting effects upon wild animals, environments, humans, etc) and combats them frankly. His arguments are not devoid of passion, but he relies heavily on concrete evidence and explanation of what is going on behind all of the closed doors and red tape. He shows well the connections to fascism and other forms of oppression. Near the end of the book, he discusses how seeing the big picture in regards to how all of these oppressions are interconnected was illuminating to him. The only thing I think he could have improved upon here is inclusion of the feminist organizers, writers, sanctuary workers, etc who have been discussing these ideas for some time. It would have wrapped the whole thing up nicely.

I found Potters writing style in this book to be interesting as well due to how intimate it was. He went out of his way to acknowledge his own biases and combat them in his reporting. He often writes in a more detached journalistic style, but this book is full of bits of memoir. It meant a lot to read things like this in part because of how much I related to Potter. Being aware of what occurs on these farms and slaughterhouses, what they do to the people who live in neighborhoods that rain literal shit, what they do to the soil and climate, and so on is taxing. On top of that, spending so many years doing what often feels like screaming into the void trying to change things is very defeating. It becomes more taxing when otherwise liberation minded people ignore it. Watching the same leftists who would break a window to save a dog from a hot car turn completely reactionary in regards to the suggestion that farmed animals should not suffer in the same way is beyond depressing. But, I digress. This is all a recipe for mental health crises and I was very grateful to see Potter speak frankly about it.

Despite the level of struggle expressed, Potter still manages to end the book on a more positive note. It reminds me a bit of the book Hope without Hope. Even though we are often up against unstoppable forces, we need to keep going. There is no movement in history that was one and done. Things will always be shifting and we will always need to evolve with that.

I definitely recommend this book to pretty much anyone. It's especially important for folks without knowledge of animal agribusiness industry, government repression, and so on- even if they don't consider these things as personally relevant. These effects spread across the planet and to other movements. It is very important for folks who believe that "humane" exploitation both exists and is easy to choose over factory farming. It is important for folks concerned with climate change. It is also a good book for folks who may already agree or think that they know the info therein. There is a lot here that I did not know. The connection and validation of personal struggles in and around these movements is also a big benefit to reading this.

This was also posted to my storygraph and blog.

[em · Rating 5 out of 5]

We love journalists who walk the walk. After reading Green is the New Red Green Is the New Red: An Insider's Account of a Social Movement Under Siege I was excited to read this new release and I pre-ordered it from City Lights Books (which several months later I got to visit in person and loved).

It took me quite a long time to get through, not because the book isn't well-written, but because as an animal rights activist I am in that funny in-between stage of desensitized and hyper-reactive to the horrors of how animals are treated in modern society. I wasn't sure I could stomach an entire book about factory farming. Fortunately, though, that wasn't the full extent of this book. In fact Potter devotes relatively little time to the gruesome details--which you can educate yourself on much more viscerally anyway by watching things like THIS-- and more time investigating the propaganda mill that is big ag.

When I first went vegan three years ago, I was shocked and angry about just how ill-informed I could have been to the realities of factory farming. This was back in the days when I believed in the ability of consumer choice to solve all ills, and that things wouldn't be legal if they were this bad. How my illusions were shattered.

I would recommend you read Little Red Barns if you want to learn about how major conglomerates bribe and manipulate their way into government and how we thus end up with things like "ag-gag" laws, which make recording within farms a crime-- or how animal rights "terrorists" who do things like release animals or god forbid, take some photos, are constantly under federal surveillance, while far-right murderers are often not even given the terrorist label.

Little Red Barns also explores the rise of the far-right and how the aesthetics of fascism intertwine with those of the "little red barn", harkening back to a false nostalgia, a simpler time when us women drank raw milk and cooked our husbands dinner while zonked out on benzos.

I also appreciated the discussion and theorizing about why animal rights and environmental activists are somewhat alienated from the rest of the left. Animal rights in particular is often scoffed at even by those who you'd think would support a movement which defends the most downtrodden and overlooked in society: nonhuman animals. The reasons for this are complicated and informed by several factors, and I was glad to see the phenomenon verbalized here, since I've long been troubled by it.

Finally, the book, despite its tour through fields of shit and factories of torture and fascist extremism, manages to end on a somewhat positive note. How can we maintain our mental health in the face of so much evil? The answer according to him is to bear witness and speak up about what we have seen, galvanizing grassroots support to use the best of humanity to fight the worst. I'm certainly in, are you?


"So our animals can’t turn around for the 2.5 years that they are in the stalls producing piglets. I don’t know who asked the sow if she wanted to turn around.... the only real measure of their well-being we have is the number of piglets per birth which is at an all-time high" -Dave Warner (National Pork Producers Council Director)

got an advance copy like 3 weeks ago but procrastinated reading for so long because I know it's gonna shatter my heart all over again as every time I am reminded of the billions of animals in factory farms across the world does

[Sarah Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Review: Little Red Barns: Hiding the Truth, from Farm to Fable by Will Potter - A Public Health Practitioner’s Perspective

Will Potter’s Little Red Barns is a gut-wrenching exposé that dismantles the pastoral mythology surrounding industrial agriculture, revealing its devastating consequences for public health. As a public health practitioner (PHP), I found myself alternating between white-hot anger at systemic deception and profound admiration for Potter’s investigative rigor. This book doesn’t just critique factory farming—it exposes how corporate interests have weaponized nostalgia (those idyllic “red barn” images) to obscure environmental racism, zoonotic disease risks, and worker exploitation.

Emotional Impact: From Disillusionment to Resolve
Reading this book felt like peeling back layers of institutionalized gaslighting. Potter’s documentation of how agribusiness suppresses research on antibiotic resistance—a looming public health catastrophe—triggered professional outrage. His accounts of marginalized communities living near CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) brought visceral memories of stories about other PHPs working with asthma clusters in industrial farming regions. Yet amid the horror, Potter’s profiles of whistleblowers and grassroots activists reignited my belief in collective action. The most haunting revelation? How pandemic preparedness is sabotaged by the very systems profiting from disease risks.

Key Public Health Takeaways
-The Myth of “Safe” Food Systems: Potter dismantles the illusion of agricultural oversight, showing how regulatory capture enables everything from fecal contamination in meat to pesticide drift in rural schools—direct challenges to health equity.
-Climate Change as a Farm-to-Table Crisis: The book’s climate reporting reframes methane emissions and deforestation not as abstract threats, but as immediate drivers of malnutrition, vector-borne diseases, and heat mortality.
-Corporate Censorship of Science: Potter’s investigation into ag-gag laws and suppressed research echoes medicine’s battles with Big Tobacco, demanding stronger protections for public health researchers.

Constructive Criticism
-Solutions Beyond Awareness: While Potter excels at diagnosis, I wished for more concrete policy prescriptions (e.g., how to restructure USDA funding or strengthen OSHA protections for food workers).
-Global Health Connections: The U.S.-centric focus misses opportunities to link industrial farming to transnational issues like antimicrobial resistance in low-income countries.

Final Assessment
Little Red Barns is a catalytic work that should be required reading for every public health student. It left me simultaneously enraged by the scale of institutional betrayal and energized to fight for food systems that prioritize health over profit. Potter’s work proves that uncovering truth is the first step toward justice.

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5/5) – A vital, if harrowing, wake-up call.

Gratitude: Thank you to City Lights Books and Edelweiss for the advanced review copy. In an era of climate denial and corporate obfuscation, this book is both a flashlight and a fire alarm.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think if most of us are honest with ourselves, we know the story of the “little red barn” is a relic from a bygone era. Indeed, 99% of the meat, dairy, and eggs we now consume comes from factory farms.

Yet the little red barn myth still persists: from our children’s first toys to the cows smiling at us from the shelves at our grocery stores. The truth of food production is out of sight, and therefore out of mind.

For decades, animal rights activists, whistleblowers, and investigative journalists have been faithfully and courageously documenting animal cruelty on factory farms to bring the truth back into our collective consciousness. Their photos, videos, and witness have exposed the industry for what it is.

The focus of Will Potter’s new book is the animal agriculture industry’s government-backed campaign to designate these activists as “terrorists,” “violent extremists,” and “enemies of the state.”

State after state passed industry-endorsed “ag-gag” laws that prohibited filming the conditions inside factory farms. As a result, “instead of prosecuting those responsible for the animal abuse, law enforcement went after the ones exposing the abuse.”

I think the most interesting part of this book for me was the connection of the “green scare” phenomenon (see Potter’s first book) with the rise in unchecked right-wing violence. The FBI has been persecuting non-violent animal and environmental activists as their “number one domestic terrorism threat” for decades, solely because those activists threatened corporate profits. Meanwhile, the FBI and Homeland Security turn a blind eye to right-wing groups that have a history of violence, refusing to label them as terrorists.

This willful negligence basically manifested the January 6th Insurrection and the widespread failure of law enforcement to prevent a far-right mob, even though they had been broadcasting their plans on social media for months beforehand.

Among these far-right and fascist groups, it’s not uncommon to hear marginalized people referred to as “vermin,” “pests,” or plainly “animals.” Potter makes the connection that “animals are the targets of unbridled, unrestrained violence; so are those humans labeled as such. When humans call other humans ‘animals’ it's a signal for the most vicious abuses of power, where otherwise unconscionable cruelty is excused.”

Potter concludes the book by saying that the myth of the little red barn will persist unless we collectively imagine and write a better story. We have to be strong enough to look at the gut-wrenching reality of animal agriculture and “if we speak about what we have seen, others will see it too, and through our collective action—our shared testimony—we will write a new story together.”

[carrie finkelstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book made me want to bash my head into a wall holy shit. EXCELLENT journalism!! genuinely such a sickening read. potter is such a compelling story teller using the framework of factory farming and the activists behind it to document and expose the ever present link between capitalism and authoritarianism. leftist groups/activism are always going to be seen as terrorism as long as corporations are seen as people and a means of social control. government ordained censorship is an insidious form of political violence and has made it so much easier to gaslight the public. not at all surprising the fact that the fbi continues to prioritize cracking down on environmental/animal rights groups vs literal white supremacist groups openly planning to overthrow the government- it’s only considered terrorism if the ruling class’s capital is at stake.

the narrative we’ve all been told normalizes violence against animals, ridicules those that carry empathy, and insists that it’s always been this way. why? so that when a marginalized group is dehumanized any and all violence/degradation is justified or accepted. we’ve seen it time and time again throughout history and are seeing it now in palestine. porter asks the reader to examine their own biases and evaluate how intersectional their values really are- what stories have we allowed ourselves to see/hear and what have we allowed ourselves to ignore for the sake of convenience? “the decision to look at injustice is no passive act […] to see darkness and refuse to turn away is itself a confrontation” and when the powers that be are actively working to rewrite reality before our eyes it is our responsibility to bear witness.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An often intense and disturbing read but fantastically researched and informative. A great piece of investigative journalism.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't a huge fan of Potter's writing style or his haphazard discussion on the philosophy of storytelling and narrative, but this book is certainly worth the read for anyone concerned about the state of journalism, the climate crisis, and animal welfare.

[Linda Elsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an important book and a subject all Americans should understand. Having said that, I had to skim parts of it as the descriptions of animal cruelty in factory farms ( the subject of the book) were too graphic for me to stomach. Please understand that I do not think the author should change a word.
This tragic story needs to be told in raw truth, never prettied up. It is what we do to hide this ugly, greed based industry - sell a totally different story. Farms with green rolling hills, barns with happy, well cared for animals, a humane, and safe industry is what we are made to believe.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before I started this, I was thinking I didn't really want to read another book with dreary descriptions of humans being cruel to animals. I'm already well aware of much of it. But I figured I would start reading anyway, and see how it went. And I'm sure glad I did start the book, because it's a brilliant one, and about so much more than just the misery of factory farms. It kept me up late reading, as I didn't want to put it down, surprising for a book with such subject matter.
The author does discuss various cruelties and horrors of factory farms, and many of the undercover operations animal activists have taken on at great personal risk, in order to expose much of it. Potter brilliantly depicts how the big business of animal agriculture has "spun" itself to the public, especially in recent decades, to try to overcome the bad publicity that many of the undercover operations have brought them.
And as the story moves along, Potter shows how big ag's ways of doing business are actually closely tied in with much of what else is going on in today's world, such as the rise of authoritarianism/fascism in the U.S. and many other countries. And if that makes you scoff, and think "No way!", well, then read the book and I bet you won't be scoffing when you finish. This is a VERY enlightening read.

[Miles Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This explorative novel into the nature of the industrial agriculture world was truly eye-opening into the atrocities that are prevalent within the current food-creating machine of the United States.

While aware of where food comes from, this book questions the SYSTEM - as well as the distinct culpable parties that have allowed for our food system to become what it is. With a focus on the political systems, Potter couples the importance of personal mitigation efforts with the necessity to rebuild a broken system. By focusing on the Ag-Gag laws that have been instituted as well as the suppression of individual liberties, he asks the reader to question not only the food industry, but also the tend for people to turn away.

Public perception, he claims, has been morphed to look negatively upon animal rights activists, ignoring the implications to larger + larger oversteps of the Federal Government into our civil liberties - particularly the 1st Amendment. If you’re curious to become more sustainable + are also against the rise of fascism across the world, this book does an incredible job diving into the intricacies of politics and the way that we eat. Enjoyed thoroughly!

Side note - absolutely love that nearly a third of the print was sources… something I think we’re severely lacking nowadays.

[Damien · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d give this an extra star if it wasn’t so damn bleak. Nah, I expected that peeling back the myth of the little red barn would be dark and unpleasant. And I appreciate the author avoiding any preaching, or suggesting you change your habits or diet. Instead, you question those decisions all on your own as you begin to understand the system you continue to support as you fill your shopping cart at the grocery store.

The book did a good job of just unraveling the myth of the little red barn and the laws protecting industrial farming. The cruelty, damage to community and environment were all eye opening. The lengths that corporations and governments go to label anyone attempting to reveal these disgusting behaviors as terrorists is astounding.

I think I was a little thrown by the link to right wing extremism and fascism. Maybe I need to reread that section, it was an interesting connection but feels flimsy. Also, as a non-American reader, I felt a little disappointed with the lack of international coverage, but I get that this books scope would have been immense to try and cover all of that, and that the little red barn is arguably a very American symbol anyway.

If you’re looking for your next depressing read that’ll make you question your habits and ingrained stories, this might be the one for you!

[Michaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Distressing read and it should be even for those, like me, who are omnivores and may not be keen on a group...oh, say releasing farm-raised minks into the wild. But if your "business" can't tolerate the light of transparency, then that is a problem. Meat is NOT raised and slaughtered like it was on my grandparents' farm. These conditions and treatments are disgusting and even if you have no animal empathy, you should have concerns over the sanitation of your food, the drinkability of your water and breathability of your air, and the conditions of the workers, many if not most migrants and even children. The ag-gag laws are corrupt as all get out and just one more step on the path to oligarchical control. Collectively, we would no doubt live longer or more healthily with more limited meat consumption. But given we seem to have lost the ability to treat humans with empathy and respect, I highly doubt we will make any progress in this arena. Also, knowing the FBI is pissing around with a small group of animal rights protestors whose worse crime appears to be filming (not talking about the "free the minks" people) as opposed to actual terrorists and violators of the Constitution and other laws of the land is not comforting.

[Kelly Blanchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little Red Barns: Hiding the Truth, from Farm to Fable is a powerful and deeply unsettling work of investigative nonfiction. Will Potter exposes how factory farming operates not just through industrial practices, but through censorship, propaganda, and coordinated efforts to silence dissent.

Blending investigative journalism, memoir, and archival research, the book reveals how ag-gag laws and corporate narratives obscure environmental harm, animal suffering, and public health risks. A vital read for anyone concerned with food ethics, free speech, and the mechanisms used to hide uncomfortable truths.

[Duncan Magidson]

I overdid it on the vegan books this year, because they really start to blend together after a while. That said, this was the best version of the same thing I read so many times and I would definitely recommend to anyone who’s not already deep in the vegan weeds.

The book really came alive in the last few chapters when the author dives into intersectionality, theories on the effectiveness of nonfiction, and connecting factory farming and ag-gag laws with the rise of fascism (I think that could have been the entire book).

[Leonard Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Toward the end the author writes he feels like he is asking readers to jump into the ocean with him, and I personally couldn’t quite follow him there. I picked this up to learn about factory farming but then also appreciated the personal, parallel reflections on what it means to be a journalist. So I guess my problem is with the last 50 pages where the book ceases to be journalism, perhaps coincident with the author’s own crisis of faith about its value, and becomes an Orwellian op-ed (a modern Animal Farm, if you will). It’s not that he’s wrong necessarily, but I wished he’d kept the faith.

[Ari Damoulakis · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is too frightful, awful and depressing. It is a book that should be read, but you will not want to. I have heard some horror stories about factory farms in SA, but these, they are even worse and more shocking, and it is even more disgraceful how some state legislatures then pass laws to make it harder for people who document these shocking practices.
I never want you to not buy the book and support the author, you should do that most definitely, but you were really feel sick reading it.

[David Barr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little Red Barns provides connections to our collective Truth

There are bitter pills we need to swallow, everything we have comes from miners, lumber jacks, fishermen or farmers. Everything they provide comes from the Earth we should know the truth about how our things come to us particularly our food. Will Potter exposes the mechanism that the powerful industrial farming interests have used to keep us in the dark and encourages us to look, and to witness.

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!!!!!

I don’t think you have to be vegan to enjoy this book. While obviously there’s some heavy stuff in here, it really has a beautiful and interesting story that deals with how to survive and keep living, even when bad things are happening around us.

It really made me realize how interconnected so many social justice issues are!!

Definitely top 3 books of the year for me so far.

[Dave Iglinski-Houghtaling · Rating 4 out of 5]

cannot overstate how much I think about this book

[Stephanie Holladay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read several chapters. Horrifying.

[Juliette · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important and powerful piece on the state of modern agriculture and the disinformation machine behind it. There’s a lot of fact in here on how animal exploitation industries operate, but it’s also a personal narrative, as the author struggles with what it means to bear witness, especially in a world where images of mass violence fail to enact true change. A lot of what the author says are things I have pondered. Conventional wisdom says that if corruption and violence are exposed on camera, it will make people care, but in today’s world oversaturated with that sort of information, its place is uncertain. What does that mean for investigative journalism? Does bearing witness ultimately matter?

Beyond these questions are practical explorations of the insidious tactics used to silence journalists, including outrageous tactics such as arresting investigators for waiting to gather more information before releasing a story. It also goes over the lie that animal farming can be made climate friendly, and dives into the fight against factory farming’s intrusion into communities.

It brings together so many topics at once yet doesn’t feel overstuffed. An excellent book that’s a must-read for anyone.