In what has to be his most unlikely movie role yet, Steve-O has narrated What Came Before a 10-minute film short about three escapees from the American meat industry.

Someone finally blew the whistle on the property, and The Humane Society helped the county sheriff remove the herd of goats. But right away, there was one standout who endeared himself to the rescuers -- Stevie.

If an ER for calves, pigs, chickens, turkeys and goats seems extreme to you, you may be more out of touch with your food than you think.

Farm-animal production provides a safety net for millions of the world's most vulnerable people, but given the industry's rapid and often poorly regulated growth, the biggest challenge will be to produce meat in environmentally and socially sustainable ways.

It is good news that some farmers recently have been able to buy back their acreage from developers as land prices have fallen and crop prices have risen. But this news is not nearly good enough.

Bad federal policy and intensifying storms are washing away the rich dark soils in the Midwest that made this country an agricultural powerhouse and that remain the essential foundation of a healthy and sustainable food system in the future.