Beware of ‘Smell of Money’ documentary

Documentaries are supposed to get it right, but sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they just want to push an agenda. 

There’s a documentary called “The Smell of Money” that’s been making the rounds among activist groups recently. The film is an 84-minute attack on North Carolina hog farms and the family farmers who operate them. 

It features all of the usual suspects—neighbors like Elsie Herring who were part of the nuisance lawsuits against Smithfield. Waterkeepers like Rick Dove and Larry Baldwin who spend their days flying over our farms. And prominent vegans like Sen. Cory Booker, who has introduced legislation to place an immediate national moratorium on large new farms.

You can learn a lot about a film by looking at the people who produced it. That’s certainly true with “The Smell of Money.” The film has deep ties to Mercy for Animals, an activist group with a stated mission to “end industrial agriculture.” 

The filmmakers, Shawn Bannon and Jamie Berger, are both vegans who worked at Mercy for Animals. Actress Kate Mara, the film’s executive producer, is a vegan activist who volunteers with Mercy for Animals, PETA, and the Humane Society.

As a result, the film isn’t a true look at hog farming in North Carolina. It’s a documentary designed to drive home one overarching message: Stop Eating Meat.

Don’t spend your hard-earned money to watch this nonsense. Instead, go buy a pack of bacon and watch “Hog Farmer: The Trials of Joey Carter” on Prime Video.

Chad Herring, a third-generation family farmer from Duplin County, is executive director of NC Farm Families. Learn more at ncfarmfamilies.com