PCRM: The nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is petitioning the White House to update its Executive Order titled “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad” to recommend policy changes that could help alleviate the climate crisis by cutting animal agriculture and promoting a plant-based diet. “The Executive Order lists several actions the federal government will take to fight climate change but fails to include steps it will take to stop the detrimental impact of animal agriculture and promote the benefits of plant-based dietary patterns—steps leading scientists,…

KAREN ASP: Veterinarians work tirelessly to save the lives of animals, the majority working with companion animals. Day in and day out, they spend long hours caring for cats and dogs, other companion animals, too, often going to heroic measures to save them. They have, after all, taken an oath created by the American Veterinary Medical Association. Part of it states: “Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine, I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health and welfare, the prevention and relief of…

TONI AIRAKSINEN: A sociology instructor at North Carolina State University (NCSU) is warning in a new academic article that vegan men are guilty of perpetuating “white masculinity.” “Meatless meals and masculinity” was written by Mari Mycek, a doctoral candidate and teaching assistant in the NCSU sociology department, who argues that vegan and vegetarian men have reclaimed their “previously-stigmatized consumption identity” to wield power over women by framing their lifestyle as a rational, rather than emotional, choice. Though some scholars claim that eating meat causes “toxic…

CARLOS AGUILAR: No stranger to unique subject matter affecting the world at large, Russian documentarian Viktor Kossakovsky went from a project about water, “Aquarela,” to his latest one about a charismatic pig, “Gunda.” Although the idea for a film about farm animals had been percolating in his mind for over 20 years, it took him a long time to convince people these non-verbal subjects would make for an interesting story. While making “Aquarela” and becoming aware of the challenges facing humanity, such as the fact that over one billion in the world don’t have access to clean water, he…

DAREN BAKST: Veggie burgers are not made from cows. They are also nutritionally different than burgers made from cows. And yet, some in the meat industry are trying to assert Americans can’t grasp these and similar obvious points. As if Americans don’t understand that there’s a difference between meat from animals and plant-based alternatives to meat. This issue is really about competition and the increased demand for plant-based alternatives to meat. So some in the meat industry (generally livestock producers) are going to state legislatures and Congress to push legislation that would…

ANYA ZOLEDZIOWSKI: Several high-profile vegan influencers are facing criticisms for comparing the slaughtering of animals to the Holocaust and the meat and dairy industries to rape and slavery—feeding into mainstream veganism’s stereotype as a lifestyle choice for fit, rich white people. One said, “animal lives matter,” while another was called out for doing blackface after she painted her face and skin black. Multiple have posted signs that say, “End the Animal Holocaust, Abolish Animal Slavery,” and they’ll call critics who don’t like what they’re saying “speciesist.” “Anytime there is…

SALLY HO: While people around the world are getting excited about trying cultivated meats for the first time in the near future, this startup is thinking about offering this experience to your pets. Based in Philadelphia, Because Animals is a biotech working on developing animal-free pet food using cell-based technology, and have already managed to produce the world’s first fetal bovine serum-free (FBS) cultured meat for cats from mouse tissue... Founded by Dr. Shannon Falconer and Joshua Errett in 2016, Because Animals is using the same cell-based technology that we currently use to make…

BAYLEN LINNEKIN: The European Union (E.U.) could deal a nonsensical and significant blow to makers of plant-based dairy substitutes such as almond milk and soy-based yogurt. And though several U.S. states have taken some steps to protect animal-based dairy interests, some of the E.U.'s more obnoxious efforts make those wrongheaded efforts in U.S. states look reasonable by comparison. In 2017, a European court banned makers of plant-based milks from labeling their milk as "milk." Since then, as The Conversation explained in an excellent piece this week, the E.U. has moved to place further…

FRANCES MARTEL: China’s state-run Global Times published multiple condemnations this week of a largely favorable article in Time magazine highlighting the growing meat substitute industry in the country, accusing those urging vegan diets in China of having a “sense of superiority” over Han Chinese people... The Global Times urged those concerned about growing meat consumption in China — naming former President Barack Obama specifically — to instead express more concern with nations like Argentina and New Zealand, where beef consumption is high compared to other states but carbon emissions…

FEEDSTUFFS: Despite use of plant-based meat or dairy products being highest among those following vegan, vegetarian, or pescatarian diets, it’s omnivores and flexitarians who make up the lion’s share of consumers who eat these products due to their sheer numbers, according to market research firm Packaged Facts in the report “Vegan, Vegetarian, and Flexitarian Consumers”. This reveals that both the current and addressable market for plant-based products depends on omnivores and flexitarians using more of these products, especially beyond this month’s Veganuary campaign encouraging people to…