Iowa Family’s Basement Floods with Blood, Fat, and Bones

Nick Lestina and his family were preparing to put their home up for sale—that is, until their basement flooded with nearly five inches of animal blood, fat, and bones.
The family, who lives in Bagley, Iowa, next door to Dahl’s Meat Locker, said the company had been discarding pig and cow body parts down a drain in the floor that connects to their pipes. In an interview, Lestina stated, “I was shocked at first, but I had a pretty good idea of where it came from. The bloody mess ruined many of their belongings, including a bed they were saving for their young son.
Lestina reported the incident to the state’s department of natural resources, which then got the department of health involved because of the hazards. Although the department of natural resources claims the meat locker is cooperating with the investigation, Lestina asserted: “They haven’t reached out at all. In fact, they basically haven’t taken any accountability for it. They just say it’s not their fault, and I guess, told me good luck.
Blood flooding a basement is disgusting, but animal agriculture is, in essence, an all-around revolting process. In a recent interview with The Intercept, former Mercy For Animals investigator Liz Pachaud said: “Inside a factory farm is like being in a warzone. It’s violent, it’s loud, it’s chaotic, it’s blood, it’s dead bodies. I saw starvation a lot. I have nightmares still to this day about what I saw.
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