Nicolette Hahn Niman is an attorney and livestock rancher. Much of her time is spent speaking and writing about the problems resulting from industrialized livestock production, including the book Righteous Porkchop: Finding a Life and Good Food Beyond Factory Farms (HarperCollins, 2009, www.righteousporkchop.com ) and three essays she has written on the subject for the New York Times. Previously, she was the Senior Attorney for the environmental organization Waterkeeper Alliance where she was in charge of the organization’s campaign to reform the concentrated livestock and poultry industry, and, before that, an attorney for National Wildlife Federation. Ms. Hahn Niman served two terms on the city council for the City of Kalamazoo, Michigan (pop. 80,000), during which time she served on sixteen community boards and commissions including the Environmental Concerns Committee. She received her Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from the University of Michigan in 1993 and her B.A. in Biology and French from Kalamazoo College in 1989. She lives in Bolinas, California with her husband, Bill Niman, founder of Niman Ranch, a natural meat company supplied by a network of over 600 traditional farmers and ranchers.

Blog Entries by Nicolette Hahn Niman

Avoiding Factory Farm Foods: An Eater's Guide

3 Comments | Posted November 11, 2009 | 08:18 AM (EST)


Most people share at least the following traits: they want to be healthy; they like animals; and they value clean air and water. Yet relatively few Americans connect those concerns with their food. As more people start making the link (especially if they've seen graphic video footage of industrial animal...

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Reaping What We Sow: How Industrial Animal Farming is Contributing to the Risk of a Swine Flu Pandemic

6 Comments | Posted June 15, 2009 | 02:15 PM (EST)


Last Thursday the World Health Organization declared the first flu pandemic in 41 years, after swine flu (H1N1) was found in 74 countries, infecting nearly 29,000 people so far. Even with the use of modern antiviral drugs where they are available, such a pandemic could kill over 100 million people....

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