ELAINE WATSON: 'In a statement, the FDA and USDA have proposed “a​ joint regulatory framework wherein FDA oversees cell collection, cell banks, and cell growth and differentiation," ​with USDA to oversee the production and labeling of food products from the harvested cells. The statement - issued by FDA commissioner Dr Scott Gottlieb and USDA secretary Sonny Perdue - added: "A transition from FDA to USDA oversight will occur during the cell harvest stage. USDA will then oversee the production and labeling of food products derived from the cells of livestock and poultry.” ​ In concluding…

MATTHEW FIELD: 'A start-up backed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates that develops vegan alternatives to burgers, bangers and other staple mealtime meats is planning to raise $100m in a New York listing. Beyond Meat, a start-up that sells meat-like vegetarian burgers, has received investments from billionaire Mr Gates and celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio. The company raised $55m in a funding round last year. Other backers include Twitter co-founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone. In its filing, Beyond Meat said its products "closely replicate the sensory experience of meat" and the listing…

MIKE POMRANZ: 'As the market for plant-based foods continue to grow — buoyed by the excitement around big-name meat alternatives like the Impossible Burger and the Beyond Burger — it makes sense that the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA) has decided it’s time to launch a Certified Plant Based seal that brands can slap on their packaging to prove they are part of the in-crowd... “The launch of the Certified Plant Based seal is an exciting next step for the fast-growing and innovative plant-based foods industry,” Michele Simon, PBFA’s executive director said in a statement. “As consumers…

OWEN ROGERS: 'There are many arguments for the reduction or elimination of meat from our diets. Some of the most common are environmental, moral, and health-based. Meat is a significant contributor to climate change and habitat destruction. It has been linked with several major diseases, including heart disease and type II diabetes. What’s more, our growing understanding of animal intelligence has soured many people on the idea of killing them for food. Still, most people happily eat burgers, chicken thighs, and fish sticks. If we can’t convince these individuals through logical arguments,…

JACY REESE: 'For decades, vegans have worked tirelessly to recruit more vegans, but that won’t work. We need a bigger solution to the issues in our food system. Vegans have tried everything. They have gone undercover on hundreds of farms to document cruelty, produced award-winning documentaries, written books, created YouTube channels, staged thousands of protests, and passed out millions of leaflets to inform people of the damage that animal agriculture does to animals, the planet, and human health. This has led to a modest increase in the number of vegetarians... To put it bluntly: Going…

ALEX DEROSIER: 'A federal jury decided Friday that the world’s largest pork producer should pay $473.5 million to neighbors of three North Carolina industrial-scale hog farms for unreasonable nuisances they suffered from odors, flies and rumbling trucks... The jury awarded $23.5 million in compensatory damages and $450 million in punitive damages, which will be reduced to a total of $94 million under limits in state law. The jury found that Smithfield Foods owes compensation to six neighbors who complained in their lawsuit that the company failed to stop “the obnoxious, recurrent odors and…

KELSEY PIPER: 'Animals in industrial farms are treated appallingly... At the same time, we’re finding out more about other negative consequences of eating meat. Animal agriculture is resource-intensive and a major contributor to climate change... Farmed animal advocates have been working on these problems for a long time. One of the problems they’ve wrestled with is a pretty fundamental challenge: How do they persuade more people to become vegetarian? Over the past decade, they’ve done a lot of research to test which methods of advocacy work, and how and why people become vegetarians.…

DEREK BERES: 'Environmental research has revealed much about the impact of our nutrition decisions. According to Ben Houl, director of the John Muir Institute of UC Davis, one-quarter of climate change is attributed to food choices, which create twice as much global pollution as cars... For example... a six-ounce steak is equivalent to driving a car for three miles... and contributes 330 grams of carbon to the environment, when you factor in growing the animal and transportation... By contrast, an equal serving of chicken produces 51 grams of carbon, while fish produces 40 grams. If you go…

JOANNA GROSSMAN: 'Lawmakers in the House of Representatives are preparing to take up the next "Farm Bill"... If we are going to pass a bill for the good of the country, we need to learn the lessons of history, rather than continuing to throw good money after bad. Like spoiled milk, market-distorting dairy industry handouts need to be thrown out. In 2016, the dairy industry asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for a staggering $150 million to buy their excess cheese. A spokesperson for the National Farmers Union said they were disappointed to receive “only” $20 million. Surely…

LYNN BREZOSKY: 'The Texas Beef Council trumpets its message in colorful brochures designed for doctor’s offices across Texas and internet searches around the nation: Have high cholesterol? Eat lean beef. Or “carne de res magra,” as the brochures say in Spanish. That’s not only bad advice, but against the law, says a group of doctors that has filed a complaint alleging that the state-designated, industry-funded council violates the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act by promoting beef industry-funded research at the expense of patient health... “The Texas Beef Council is…