RALEIGH, N.C. — The world's largest pork company said it's going whole-hog on converting powerful pig poop gases into power.
[RELATED: Smithfield Foods closing meat distribution center]
Smithfield Foods said it is expanding to farms across North Carolina, Utah and Missouri a pilot program that traps methane and burns the gas to generate electricity.
Smithfield said its company-owned and contract farms over the next decade will cover waste-treatment pits to capture the gas and keep out rainwater. The gas will be channeled to processing centers and converted into natural gas.
[RELATED: Jurors slap pork giant Smithfield with $25M for nuisances]
The Environmental Defense Fund is working with Smithfield to reduce the company's greenhouse gas emissions. The environmental group said large-scale rollout of the plan could have the effect over 20 years of eliminating carbon dioxide emissions from more than 700,000 homes.
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