EMILY COSTELLO: 'The word “vegan” was invented in 1944 in Leicester, England by Donald Watson and his future wife Dorothy Morgan. That year, Watson and others founded The Vegan Society. Research into the society’s early publications shows that their key focus was arguing for an end to animal exploitation. Veganism was ethical from its birth. In 1946, Watson wrote: “Human existence does not depend upon the inconceivable tyranny now existing against animals.” In 1950, the Vegan Society adopted its first official definition of veganism, agreed at their annual general meeting and published in…

FARAH MASTER: 'For the past two weeks China’s police have been raiding houses, restaurants and makeshift markets across the country, arresting nearly 700 people for breaking the temporary ban on catching, selling or eating wild animals. The scale of the crackdown, which has netted almost 40,000 animals including squirrels, weasels and boars, suggests that China’s taste for eating wildlife and using animal parts for medicinal purposes is not likely to disappear overnight, despite potential links to the new coronavirus. Traders legally selling donkey, dog, deer, crocodile and other meat told…

EARTH DAY NETWORK: 'A report titled “Climate Change and the American Diet,” released by Earth Day Network and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, found that half (51%) of Americans surveyed said that they would eat more plant-based foods if they had more information about the environmental impacts of their food choices... But, 70% rarely or never talk about this issue with friends or family. Nearly two-thirds of the Americans surveyed report having never been asked to eat more plant-based foods, and more than half rarely or never hear about the topic in the media... However,…

SARAH LAWTON: ' 'Livestock' welfare has been a recent topic of conversation, as environmental activists have decried the low meat prices that can only be maintained through dismal living conditions for the animals... A commission led by former Minister for Agriculture Jochen Borchert issued its proposals for reshaping "animal husbandry" in Germany. By 2040, they expect that all animals will be at a minimum kept in conditions that adhere with Level 2 of those in the planned Animal Welfare Labelling Act. This requires creating more space and better climate conditions in stables. To pay for…

JOHN RAMOS: 'At Miyoko’s Creamery in Petaluma, they’re producing butter and cheese from plants. But according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, that’s not what they’re doing at all. Miyoko Schinner is on a roll. Her company turns cashews, oats and legumes into items that taste just like dairy products. Her best-selling vegan butter just got picked up by Costco and her company is doubling in sales each year. So she was surprised when she got a letter from the Department of Food and Agriculture saying she should stop calling her vegan butter butter... The letter says a…

JACY REESE: 'Joaquin Phoenix has gotten his share of mockery for talking about factory farming and animal rights in his Oscars acceptance speech. As usual, the petty commentary on a celebrity’s supposed self-indulgence is obscuring the far more important fact: Phoenix is absolutely right. The way we treat our fellow sentient beings is absolutely unacceptable, and our descendants will look back on animal farming as a moral atrocity... We need to ask, as the conservative writer Charles Krauthammer did, what are the moral blindspots of our generation? What common and unquestioned practices…

THE GOOD FOOD INSTITUTE: 'Despite skyrocketing demand for plant-based food across the U.S., 42 of the country's favorite fast food and restaurant chains still don't offer a plant-based entrée, according to a report released today by The Good Food Institute (GFI). The third annual Good Food Restaurant Scorecard ranks the top 100 restaurant chains in the U.S. on the depth, breadth, and promotion of their plant-based entrées. New GFI-commissioned data also released today reveals the size of the market opportunity on offer and shows that U.S. broadline foodservice sales of plant-based meat have…

MICHELLE SLATER: 'Animal rights group Aussie Farms has declared it will be "business as usual" for animal activists after the Parliamentary Inquiry into Animal Activists on Victorian Agriculture passed down its recommendations last week. Aussie Farms founder Chris Delforce described the outcome as "definitely good news", but said it missed some opportunities to go even further... "It's still business as usual for us, we will still do everything we can to show the public what's going on and what it needs to see," Mr Delforce told The Express... Mr Delforce was buoyed by some recommendations…

FIONA SIMPSON: 'There’s no doubt that the vegan movement is becoming a real force to be reckoned with. Veganuary here in the UK has just come to an end - an initiative that encourages people to go vegan during the month of January as a way to promote and educate about a vegan lifestyle. Since the event began over here in 2014 participation has more than doubled each year... More and more people are opting to follow a plant based diet, not only for reasons of health but also for environmental and animal welfare reasons. Here in in the UK, it's estimated that now over 3.5 million people are…

JULIET GELLATLEY: 'It is time to finally make the connection between animal agriculture and environmental destruction, antibiotic resistance and disease outbreak... The coronavirus (WN-CoV), the viral disease outbreak that has captured headlines, has shut down cities and continues to spread while the rest of the world looks on with horrified abandon. Coronaviruses are a common type of virus that cause mild illnesses, such as the common cold, but can cause more serious respiratory problems... Where did it come from? How is the virus transmitted and what are the symptoms? Will face masks…