DES MOINES, Iowa -- The corporate meat industry is the target of a new campaign that asks consumers to boycott products from large operations. Those behind the effort point to recent situations in Iowa as examples of longstanding issues that need to be resolved, and cite a wide range of issues including worker safety, animal welfare, environmental impact and consumer health.

The "Boycott Big Meat" campaign is being led by a number of organizations, including the Organic Consumers Association. That group's international director, Ronnie Cummins, said they hope the power of consumers gets the attention of policymakers, as well as the industry itself.

"We're calling on consumers to think when they pull out their wallet and to stop buying meat from the big meat companies," Cummins said.

Instead, the campaign suggests consumers turn to items produced in ways that aren't as harmful to the environment and come from smaller, independent operations where safety and fair wages are a priority.

Workplace protections were a key issue at a number of meat plants in Iowa and other states this past spring, as coronavirus cases soared at several facilities. A key trade group, the North American Meat Institute, did not respond to a request for comment before deadline.

Darryl Morin, Forward Latino president, said they want to ensure the industry is held accountable for exploiting meat-plant workers, many of whom are people of color, during the COVID-19 crisis.

"We are seeing lives lost to the interest of corporate profits," Morin said.

Sherri Dugger, executive director at the Socially Responsible Agricultural Project, said they want Congress to approve measures such as the House version of the Farm Systems Reform Act, which she said could help level the playing field when it comes to regulating meat producers.

"We really want to push for policy that helps to transform these rural communities where these operations exist - these industrial operations, meat-packing plants, as well as the concentrated animal feeding operations - that we want to help transition to a better food system," Dugger said.

The coalition said that includes products considered organic and regenerative that are pasture-raised and come from grass-fed animals.

The Farm Systems Reform Act would place an immediate moratorium on the construction of new or expanding large factory farms, while phasing out existing operations. Opponents of the bill say it could lead to higher costs for consumers.

But the coalition argues cheaper products that come from big factories result in a lot of hidden costs, including taxpayer-funded subsidies and environmental clean-up and health care costs related to harmful drugs and chemicals in the products.

ROSLINDALE, Mass. - A new report finds Massachusetts residents would rather repair electronic devices than send them to landfills, but manufacturers often create barriers to making those repairs.

The report says seven of the 10 most popular manufacturers of phones, laptops, appliances and more restrict access to parts and service information - limiting consumers and even repair professionals, from accessing tools, parts, schematics or software.

Janet Domenitz, executive director of the Massachusetts Public Interest Group, said legislation has been pending in the General Assembly for years to ensure the digital "right to repair."

"You know, when you purchase something, the idea is you own it," said Domenitz. "But if you can't fix it, you don't own it, and that's part of our case for passing this law. If you buy a device, you should get the instructions for how it's made, and how you fix it."

The report says in 2020, more than two million Massachusetts users went online to 'iFixit.com' to learn how to repair something. Domenitz noted it's estimated that Commonwealth residents could have saved $870 million last year by repairing devices instead of buying new ones.

Alex Castillo owns Digitech Electronic Solutions, an electronics repair company based in Roslindale. He said bringing devices back to the manufacturer for repair can be time-consuming and expensive, especially for people who may not have transportation or time to take off work.

"Here, luckily, it could be done in fairly quicker time," said Castillo. "And also the amount of money will be a huge discount, compared to going to one of those big manufacturers."

Domenitz added electronic waste is one of the most prevalent and toxic sources of waste. She said it takes 165 pounds of raw material to produce one eight inch cellphone.

And Americans discard more than 415,000 cellphones per day, roughly 8,100 in Massachusetts.

"Disposing of stuff, putting things in landfills and incinerators," said Domenitz. "I mean, that is polluting our air, water, taking up open space."

DENVER -- The days of exponentially high increases in health-insurance costs may finally be in the rearview mirror. The Colorado Division of Insurance's preliminary plans for 2022 project only slight premium increases.

Gov. Jared Polis credited the state's reinsurance program for helping save consumers money.

Adam Fox, deputy director of the Colorado Consumer Initiative, said the program, which allows insurance companies to defray the costs of the most expensive claims, has helped keep rates stable in the individual market.

"On average, Coloradans are going to see around a 1.4% increase in plan premiums, which is a far cry from some of the double-digit premium increases that we saw several years ago," Fox explained.

Savings from the reinsurance program increased this year. Grand Junction and other parts of the Western Slope, and communities on the Eastern Plains, saw health-insurance premiums drop by more than 35% on average. Rates in Front Range cities dropped between 20% and 30%.

Critics of legislation establishing the program worried the cost of fees collected to finance reinsurance would just be passed along to consumers.

Fox noted so far, there has been little evidence consumers are being negatively impacted by how the program is funded. Even if fees collected from insurance companies were being passed along to consumers, Fox added the program's benefits are far greater.

"On average, Coloradans are saving 24% on their premiums because of the reinsurance program, and the fee is 2% of premiums being collected," Fox outlined.

The reinsurance program is one of a host of policy tweaks state lawmakers have crafted under the Affordable Care Act in an effort to keep costs down and increase coverage.

Polis promised even greater savings when the Colorado Option comes online. The measure requires insurers, health-care providers and hospitals to reduce premiums by an additional 15% by 2023.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- As more North Carolinians resume travel and take vacations this summer, most will be relying on their debit and credit cards, and smartphones, and experts say fraudulent activity from financial data aggregation services such as PayPal and Venmo are a growing concern.

Joe Mecca, vice president for communication at Coastal Credit Union, said criminals can steal login credentials from less secure websites, and then attempt to use them to hack into other accounts or obtain bank information.

"Fraudsters are getting more and more sophisticated in how they target people," Mecca outlined. "They're getting a combination of publicly available information, as well as information that may have been stolen from different data breaches, and they start to cobble that all together to create profiles. "

Mecca advised never using the same password on multiple websites, and emphasized a strong, unique password is your first line of defense.

According to a report from Safety.com, North Carolina ranks fifteenth in the nation for the frequency of cybercrime, with losses estimated at more than $48 million.

Mecca added sharing seemingly harmless information on Facebook such as your first car, favorite pet or second-grade teacher's name may reveal common security question answers.

"What they don't realize is your friends who went to school with you that you're connected with on Facebook that a fraudster can see, might be using that information, or your family members might be using that information," Mecca explained.

Jonathon Striley, vice president for information security at Coastal Credit Union, recommended just like getting your vehicle's oil changed every few months, take the time to regularly update your computer, change your passwords and delete old accounts.

"Security is going to continue to be a major threat, unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it," Striley asserted. "Now everything that we do is entirely dependent on computers. Therefore, our security and our well-being is dependent on keeping them safe."

Losses from identity-theft cases increased 42% to more than $700 billion last year, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Experts say the spike was fueled by the high rate of unemployment identity theft during the pandemic, as increased and extended unemployment benefits became a magnet for fraudsters.