FOOD

VEGCONOMIST: A survey of Chinese consumers in four major cities has revealed immensely positive attitudes towards plant-based meat. Conducted by the School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences at Peking University, the research found that a huge 99.8% of respondents would be willing to buy locally-produced plant-based burgers. 85% had already tried plant-based meat, largely due to a desire to try new things and a belief that plant-based products are healthier. Women, highly educated people, and those with a high income were the most likely to buy plant-based meat. Beijing had the highest…

NICOLE MEYER: A new PETA TV spot airing this week during similarly grim movies The Day After Tomorrow and Zombieland is pointing to animal agriculture as a leading cause of the climate catastrophe and asking viewers, “Are you a bad parent?” while urging them to safeguard their children’s future by banning environmentally devastating meat and dairy from their homes. Much like The Last of Us’ Ellie (played by vegan Bella Ramsey), PETA’s protagonist is a young orphan trying to navigate a post-apocalyptic world. In the video, she lists the rules her mom enforced—such as not touching the stove…

FIONA CALLINGHAM: Diet is a key factor when it comes to cholesterol, with certain foods raising levels and others lowering them. It has long been accepted that certain meats can be bad for cholesterol, with fatty cuts like sausages and bacon among those to be eaten in moderation. But now a study has shown that swapping out meat for plant-based alternatives can both lower “bad” cholesterol - known as low-density lipoprotein - and your risk of heart attacks, strokes, and cardiovascular disease. New research from the University of Warwick found that two types of meat alternatives had…

VEGCONOMIST: The Italian government becomes the next in a growing list of those proposing restricted labelling on plant-based meat from using “meaty” terms, in a move ProVeg describes as “misleading and backwards.” The bill notes that its efforts represent an attempt to protect livestock production in the country, even though animal agriculture is responsible for about 20% of greenhouse gas emissions globally... “Plant-based foods emit half the amount of greenhouse gases as animal-based foods, so we need to introduce policies that actively encourage people to switch to more flexitarian…

LILLIAN ROY: An animal rights group is taking responsibility for the frozen pig carcasses found hanging under overpasses in Montreal Thursday morning. Three carcasses were hung at three locations in Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie overnight, prompting Montreal police (SPVM) to investigate... The pigs were hung at the intersections of Christophe-Colombe Avenue and des Carrières Street, Papineau Avenue and des Carrières Street, and de Lorimier Avenue and Dandurand Street. It appears the mystery has been solved, with the group Direct Action Everywhere confirming their involvement to various…

INDIA TV: Maa Ka Doodh: Uncovering A Nation’s Dairy Disaster is an investigative feature-length documentary film that follows the journey of Dr. Harsha Atmakuri who undertakes an investigation to find out the untold stories behind the success of India’s White Revolution - The World’s Largest Dairy Production and Development Campaign. The documentary also explores the ethical, cultural, environmental, religious, economic, and political complexities the consumption of dairy in India has created since millennia. . The film follows Dr. Harsha Atmakuri who travels over 20,000 kilometres across…

FIONA JACKSON: We're all used to seeing the gruesome images of black lungs and rotting teeth on packets of cigarettes, designed to put smokers off the unhealthy habit. Now, scientists say that slapping similar stickers on packs of meat in supermarkets could help to shame buyers. The stickers could include sad images of animals, accompanied by messages such as: 'Animals suffer when you eat meat.' They could also include images of decimated forests with the words: 'The Amazon rainforest is destroyed when you eat meat.' A study from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands found that…

MIKE SCIALOM: With cultured meat being declared safe to eat by the US government, the starting pistol has been fired for the lab-grown meat market. The stage is now set for a rapid expansion of the production of meat using animal cells grown in the laboratory, with the European market expected to be worth $818million by 2026 – admittedly far behind China and North America, with $14.8billion and $4.4billion in expected market size by 2026 respectively... Produced by IP specialist GovGrant, the study suggests that by 2035 cultured meat – which requires no land, pesticides, animal feed or…

ASSOCIATED PRESS: Soy, oat, almond and other drinks that bill themselves as "milk" can keep using the name, according to draft federal rules released Wednesday. Food and Drug Administration officials issued guidance that says plant-based beverages don't pretend to be from dairy animals – and that U.S. consumers aren't confused by the difference. Dairy producers for years have called for the FDA to crack down on plant-based drinks and other products that they say masquerade as animal-based foods and cloud the real meaning of "milk." Under the draft rules, the agency recommends that beverage…

MARINA BOLOTNIKOVA: Many people now know about the cruelty of factory farming, which is how almost all US meat and eggs are produced, but they’re reluctant to connect it to the cheap food on their plates. It’s not surprising that consumers are caught in this cognitive dissonance, yet I’ve still been surprised to see it reflected by so many journalists, both national and local, in the last several weeks. One Atlantic writer, for example, remarked in a piece recently that she was “indignant” to spend $6 on a dozen eggs. But how much is too much to pay for the product of an animal’s indignity…