Automated Factory Farm Objection Generator (AFOG)

🚀 Project Overview

The Automated Factory Farm Objection Generator (AFOG) is a platform designed to empower citizens and NGOs to effectively oppose factory farm planning permit applications. Our system automates the detection of permit filings and leverages AI to generate compelling, legally-referenced objection letters.

Mission

Continue proven Mumbai C4C project. Auto-detect permit filings, generate compelling objection letters with legal citations. Scale objection capacity 100x.

Key Features:

• Permit Detection: Identifies new factory farm permit applications.
• AI-Powered Letter Generation: Uses the Gemini API to draft persuasive objection letters, citing relevant Indian environmental and animal welfare regulations.
• Legal Citation Library: Comprehensive database of relevant laws and regulations.
• Submission Tracking System: Interface for NGOs to track their submissions.
• Downloadable Letters: Provides generated letters in a downloadable format (PDF).
• Email Integration: Email notifications and sending capabilities for permit submissions.
• User-Friendly Web Interface: A clean interface for NGOs and citizens to generate and track objection letters.

⚙️ Tech Stack

Component	Technology Used	Notes
Frontend	Next.js (React), Tailwind CSS	A powerful React framework for building modern web applications with integrated styling. ESLint is configured for code quality.
Backend	Node.js, Express	A web framework for handling API requests and AI integration. It serves as the brain for data processing and AI interaction.
AI/LLM	Google Gemini API	For generating intelligent and context-aware objection letters. This is the core AI component.
Data Storage	JSON Files / Database	Storage for permit data, legal citations, and submission tracking.
Email	Nodemailer	For sending objection letters and notifications.

📂 Project Structure

Automated-Factory-Farm-Objection-Generator/
├── backend/                    # Node.js/Express application
│   ├── server.js               # Main server file: Defines API endpoints for permit detection and letter generation.
│   ├── package.json            # Node.js dependencies: Lists all backend libraries (e.g., express, @google/generative-ai, nodemailer).
│   └── permits.json            # Permit data: A JSON file containing factory farm permit applications.
├── frontend/                   # Next.js application: The user-facing web interface.
│   ├── public/                 # Static assets: Images, fonts, and other static files.
│   ├── src/app/                # React components for routes: Each file here becomes a route (e.g., page.tsx for the homepage).
│   ├── package.json            # Node.js project dependencies: Lists all frontend libraries (e.g., React, Next.js, Tailwind CSS).
│   ├── next.config.ts          # Next.js configuration: Custom settings for the Next.js build.
│   ├── tailwind.config.js      # Tailwind CSS configuration: Customizes Tailwind's utility classes.
│   └── postcss.config.js       # PostCSS configuration: Processes CSS with plugins like Autoprefixer and Tailwind CSS.
├── policiesandlaws.json        # Legal data: Contains environmental and animal welfare regulations.
├── hackathon_plan.md           # Detailed hackathon plan and timeline: A step-by-step guide for the team.
└── README.md                   # Project overview and setup instructions: This file!

🚀 Getting Started

Follow these steps to set up and run the project locally.

Prerequisites

• Node.js (LTS version recommended)
• npm or yarn (Node.js package manager)
• A web browser
• Google Gemini API Key

1. Backend Setup

The backend is located in backend.

Navigate to the backend directory:

cd backend

Install the Node.js dependencies:

npm install

Edit .env to include the following - you can set up a Gemini key here: https://aistudio.google.com/api-keys

GEMINI_API_KEY=<Set Up A Key on Gemini>
USER_EMAIL=xxx
USER_PASS=xxx

2. Frontend Setup

The Next.js frontend is located in the frontend directory. It has already been initialized.

Navigate to the frontend directory:

cd frontend

Install the Node.js dependencies:

npm install

Create .env file with the backend URL:

NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL=http://localhost:3001

3. How to Run

To run the full application, you need to start both the backend and the frontend servers.

Start Backend: Open a new terminal, navigate to backend, and run:

npm start

The backend server will typically run on http://localhost:3001.

Start Frontend: Open another new terminal, navigate to frontend, and run:

npm run dev

The frontend development server will typically run on http://localhost:3000. Open this URL in your web browser to access the application.

💡 How to Contribute

• Backend Developers: Your primary focus is backend/server.js. Enhance the API endpoints for permit detection, objection generation, legal citations, and submission tracking.
• Frontend Developers: Your work will be in the frontend/src/app/ directory. Enhance the user interface, improve user experience, and handle dynamic content display using React and Next.js. Ensure smooth communication with the backend API.
• AI/ML Engineers: Collaborate closely with the backend team to craft effective and legally sound prompts for the Gemini API. Your expertise will ensure the generated objection letters are persuasive and accurate.
• Full Stack Developers: Focus on integration between frontend and backend, ensuring the entire system works seamlessly.

Refer to hackathon_plan.md for a detailed timeline and specific tasks for the upcoming hackathon.

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"We help communities say NO to unethical farms, instantly."