ESTELLE RAYBURN: 'According to a recent study published in the journal Science, staying away from meat and dairy products is the single most effective way to help the planet. Scientists arrived at this conclusion after an analysis of how farming affects the Earth revealed some eye-opening statistics. According to the research, if people stopped consuming meat and dairy products, we could reduce global farmland use by over 75 percent — that’s an area that could fit all of the U.S., China, the European Union, AND Australia — while still feeding the world’s growing population successfully. The…

ALICE DI CONCETTO: 'In a special report on the development of plant proteins in the European Union, the European Commission recognizes that plant-based alternatives are gaining popularity in Europe. In addition to providing details on the promising market share for meat and dairy alternatives, the report lists a set of recommendations and funding opportunities available to producers to develop the sector of plant-based proteins. The report, which was published on the first day of the Conference on the Development of Plan Proteins in the EU, confirms that the EU plan to develop the…

MANEKA GANDHI: 'Imagine a world without violence. A study done in America, on which were the most violent and unsafe areas in the county, showed that these were the kilometres around slaughterhouses. In India a survey done last month showed that the least liveable city in India is Rampur, the city of slaughterhouses and knives. Imagine a world without slaughterhouses, with no animals grown forcibly and killed viciously. Imagine a world where animals are out of animal husbandry and yet there is meat for all. The answer is cultured meat. No waste, no disposal of offal, no sickening smells and…

TINGMIN KOE: 'Otsuka Foods has launched its first line of plant-based meat products in Japan, and has pledged that further goods will follow in order to tap into rising consumer demand. Branded as “Zero Meat”, the products are two frozen-chilled burgers, with “meat” patties made from soy beans. One of the products also contain plant-based cheese made from soymilk cream. The firm is selling plant-based meat products for the first time. It took about a year to develop the products, a spokeswoman from Otsuka Foods told FoodNavigator - Asia. A reason for entering the plant-based meat market is…

NOMA NAZISH: 'More and more people are switching to a plant-based diet thanks to its proven health and environmental benefits. In the U.S itself, more than a third of consumers are actively trying to eat more plant-based foods... "A plant-based diet is one that centers on whole plant foods, namely vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, mushrooms, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices," says Julieanna Hever, a California-based nutritionist... "A plant-based diet is the only diet that has been shown to not only prevent — but to reverse — advanced-stage cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes,"…

ANGELA CHEN: 'On the very first page of The End of Animal Farming, author Jacy Reese makes it clear that the book is not about why animal farming is bad. There have been plenty of books chronicling the damage caused by factory farms, but his book is about how to solve animal farming itself. Technology will be a big part of the answer, says Reese, an animal rights activist and research director at the Sentience Institute. Scientific advances have already brought us the plant-based Impossible Burger and the first lab-grown burger, but we have a ways to go before we can permanently switch to…

ELENA NALON: 'A new study published on The Lancet Planetary Health tries to fill this gap by analyzing the efficacy of different interventions in changing consumer behaviour towards a lower demand for meat. Previous research has shown that simply providing information on the negative environmental impact of meat production isn’t enough to modify consumers’ habits in a lasting way. This happens because even if we’re consciously aware of the impact of eating meat, other powerful and unconscious factors (e.g., conviviality, lack of appetizing alternatives) often drive us to default to…

DAN HANCOX: 'If this is the year of mainstream veganism, as every trend forecaster and market analyst seems to agree, then there is not one single cause, but a perfect plant-based storm of factors. People cite one or more of three key motives for going vegan – animal welfare, environmental concerns and personal health – and it is being accompanied by an endless array of new business startups, cookbooks, YouTube channels, trendy events and polemical documentaries. The traditional food industry is desperately trying to catch up with the flourishing grassroots demand. “What do you mean, weak,…

AP: 'A Kansas law banning secret filming at slaughterhouses and other livestock facilities unconstitutionally criminalizes free speech on matters of considerable public concern, a coalition of animal rights and consumer protection groups argued in a lawsuit filed Tuesday. At issue in the lawsuit is the state’s “Ag-Gag” law, which was enacted in 1990. The law makes it a crime for anyone to take a picture or video at animal facilities without the owner’s consent or to enter them under false pretenses. “The Kansas Ag-Gag law has silenced whistleblowers seeking to protect animals from cruelty…

CHEYENNE MACDONALD: 'A new report penned by 130 national academies warns that the food supply is becoming increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather by driving the conditions that will make such events even worse in the future... And, they’re calling on the public to make changes, too. The team says it’s critical that we improve diets for public health overall, and for the environment, as demand for high-calorie food sources continues to rise. Reducing meat consumption would benefit both public health and the climate... At the same time, humanity continues to fall short of nutrition targets…