Eyewitness to Cruelty Inside Factory Farms and Fish Hatcheries | Ep10

If you’ve ever trusted a label at the grocery store—cage-free, humane, organic—this episode will challenge everything you think you know.

Dr. Johnny Lieberman welcomes undercover investigator Erin Wing, who spent years working inside factory farms to document what the animal agriculture industry works aggressively to conceal. What Erin describes is not isolated abuse, but standard operating procedure: chickens packed by the tens of thousands into dark sheds filled with toxic ammonia fumes, dairy cows repeatedly impregnated, separated from their calves, beaten when their bodies give out, and salmon raised in overcrowded tanks swimming in their own waste while disease spreads unchecked.

This conversation moves beyond shock value. It confronts the deeper systems at play—how animals are reduced to units of production, how consumer labels are engineered to soothe guilt rather than reflect reality, and how emotional distance allows cruelty to become normalized.

Dr. Lieberman and Erin explore the moral cost of convenience, the public health implications of industrial farming, and the difficult but necessary role of undercover investigations in exposing truth. The episode doesn’t demand perfection—but it does insist on honesty, awareness, and informed choice.

Key Themes & Takeaways

• What undercover investigations reveal when no one thinks they’re being watched
• Why “humane,” “cage-free,” and “natural” labels often hide more than they reveal
• The physical and emotional suffering built into industrial chicken, dairy, and fish farming
• How dairy cows and their calves are systematically separated—and why it matters
• The hidden public health risks of animals raised in filth and overcrowding
• Why consumer ignorance is not accidental—but engineered
• What informed choice really looks like when the truth is uncomfortable

About the Guest

Erin Wing is an undercover investigator and animal advocate with Animal Outlook. Erin has spent years working inside chicken farms, dairy operations, and salmon hatcheries to document conditions the animal agriculture industry works aggressively to keep hidden. Their investigations have helped expose systemic cruelty, inform legal advocacy, and empower consumers with truth.

To learn more about Erin’s work and ongoing investigations, visit animaloutlook.org.

About the Show

Puppies, Pandemics, and Public Health explores the intersection of animal welfare, public policy, and human health. Hosted by Dr. Johnny Lieberman, each episode invites changemakers, legal experts, and health advocates to shed light on what really impacts our communities—and what we can do about it.

About the Host

Dr. Johnny Lieberman is a physician, public health advocate, and lifelong animal lover with a passion for connecting the dots between animal welfare, human behavior, and the systems that shape our lives. With a background in both medicine and public health policy, Johnny brings a unique lens to conversations about how our treatment of animals impacts human health, the environment, and social justice.

In Puppies, Pandemics, and Public Health, Johnny brings warmth, curiosity, and a dash of wit to tough conversations that matter. From exposing the realities of factory farming to uncovering the links between zoonotic diseases and our food systems, his goal is to empower listeners to be informed, compassionate, and engaged citizens—while still keeping it real (and sometimes bringing in puppies).

Whether he's discussing legislative loopholes or snuggling his rescue dog between recordings, Dr. Lieberman believes that creating a healthier world starts with how we treat its most vulnerable beings.

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