SUMEET SINGH LAMBA: Veganism, as a dietary style, emphasises the consumption of primarily plant-based meals while avoiding all animal products. Veganism has witnessed a dramatic and sharp surge in popularity in recent years. Food is an essential element of everyone's daily existence. It is therefore important to study what people consume and their attitudes about specific foods from the standpoint of health and fitness. One way to obtain these types of information about the food is through social media analysis...   Research is being conducted to measure the reasons why there is an increase…

VEGCONOMIST: A new report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) has underlined the importance of a shift towards plant-based foods to address climate change. The European Climate Risk Assessment report notes that the Farm to Fork Strategy and international dietary guidelines call for reduced animal product consumption and a shift towards plant-based diets. The authors find that this would reduce freshwater consumption and dependency on imported animal feed, while achieving healthier dietary patterns. Reducing animal product consumption would also free up a substantial quantity of cereal…

ESTELA M. DIAZ: The enduring concern of animal experimentation sits at the heart of the animal defense movement, propelled by the humanitarian ethos established in the 19th century and the principles of anti-speciesism that emerged in the 20th century. At the same time, within the spectrum of animal advocacy, animal testing is one of the most contentious issues due to the scarcity of viable non-animal alternatives for drug testing and the broad spectrum of stances within the movement. These range from advocating for the outright abolition of animal testing to endorsing its restricted use…

ROLAND MAYRHOFER: Although vegan and vegetarian diets and lifestyles differ significantly from each other, among other things, notably in their respective consequences regarding animal welfare and their ecological impact, vegans and vegetarians are often grouped together and usually compared to omnivores in psychological research. Considering that vegans and vegetarians often share similar motives for their lifestyle choices, namely animal and environmental issues, the question arises why similar motives lead to different conclusions and correspondingly different behaviors, most notably, of…

BBC: Could going vegan help feed the world and save the planet? While industry and energy production are often singled out as the main drivers of climate change, the global meat production industry is a bigger polluter. Veganism advocate Gary Francione and nutritionist Dr Ron Weiss join Nuala McGovern to discuss the pros and cons of veganism. While it might make sense from an ethical and climate change perspective, it is a massive cultural leap for many. We ask whether veganism could really be useful in places where food might not be readily available. And answer concerns over whether a…

MEAGHAN CAMERON: The connection between relative high meat consumption and certain types of cancer has been well established. The World Health Organization classifies processed meat — like bacon, sausage, and other cured meats — alongside smoking and asbestos as a “Group 1” carcinogen (but notes that processed meat consumption should be limited, unlike smoking and asbestos exposure, which both should be avoided completely). Most organizations concerned with cancer prevention agree that people should limit processed meat, as it is linked with cancers of the colon, stomach, and other sites of…

COREY WATERS: The potential of an individual to participate in a particular movement increases if identifications of that individual are recognized as congruent with the collective identifications of that movement. For example, it has been shown through interviews with vegans that there is congruence with those who had identified as “animal people,” meaning advocates for nonhuman animals, prior to becoming vegan. Because these people wanted to be authentic “animal people,” and because they recognized being vegan as congruent with being authentic “animal people,” they became vegan... This…

3BEE: Food for Profit is the first documentary to show the thread that binds the meat industry, the lobbies and political power. At the centre are the billions of euros - exactly 397 - that Europe allocates to intensive livestock farms, which mistreat animals, pollute the environment and pose a danger to future pandemics. Food for Profit is the result of a investigation conducted over five years by journalist Giulia Innocenzi, who wrote and directed the docufilm together with Pablo D'Ambrosi. Food For Profit premiered on Thursday 22 February at the European Parliament in Brussels... The…

ANASTASIA SLOAN: Even in cities that accommodate allergens and veganism, an extra $0.50 to $1 is almost always tacked on to coffee for nondairy milk. ​This additional fee, according to a recent class action lawsuit against Dunkin’, is discriminatory. The lawsuit — filed in late December in Northern California’s federal district court on behalf of all U.S. consumers who have paid more at Dunkin’ for nondairy milk alternatives within the last four years — seeks no less than $5 million for class members. The named ​plaintiffs “all suffer from lactose intolerance and milk allergies,” making it…

NEWS MEDICAL: A low-fat vegan diet rich in fruits, vegetables, grains, and beans reduces insulin needs and improves insulin sensitivity and glycemic control in people with type 1 diabetes, according to a first-of-its-kind study by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine published in Clinical Diabetes. The study also found that a vegan diet led to improvements in cholesterol levels, kidney function, and weight... In the 12-week study, which is the first randomized clinical trial to look at a vegan diet in people with type 1 diabetes, 58 adults with type 1 diabetes were randomly…