GEORGE MONBIOT: 'We are on the cusp of the biggest economic transformation, of any kind, for 200 years. While arguments rage about plant- versus meat-based diets, new technologies will soon make them irrelevant. Before long, most of our food will come neither from animals nor plants, but from unicellular life. After 12,000 years of feeding humankind, all farming except fruit and veg production is likely to be replaced by ferming: brewing microbes through precision fermentation. This means multiplying particular micro-organisms, to produce particular products, in factories... It comes in the…

CASPAR SALMON: 'Well into Veganuary and the head-scratching confusion over just exactly what veganism is continues.The perception of veganism as a diet or passing fad has somehow clung on in the health pages of our newspapers...There is a continual debate in the media about whether ‘the diet’ is healthy. This is beside the point. There is a stream of misinformation designed to trick people into believing that vegetarianism and veganism are simply not possible. This madness must stop, and it’s extraordinary that it has endured this long... Making the personal choice to live more ethically…

DANIEL HOWLEY: 'Impossible Foods CEO Pat Brown is bringing the heat to CES 2020 in Las Vegas, America’s biggest consumer tech trade show. The head of the plant-based meat company not only debuted two new products, a ground pork and pork sausage alternative, but slammed the meat industry in an interview with Yahoo Finance, calling it "the most destructive technology on Earth by far." The company's ultimate goal is to completely replace animals as a form of food by 2035. Impossible Foods already offers a beef alternative in its Impossible Burger, which uses plants and includes a soy-based…

DAN SATHERLEY: 'A new documentary aired in the UK, which calls for farming to be phased out in favour of food grown from bacteria in factories. George Monbiot's Apocalypse Cow aired on Wednesday night (UK time) on Channel 4. It begins with Monbiot - who was arrested last year during an Extinction Rebellion protest - saying flying less and getting rid of plastic straws isn't going to be enough to save the world from ecological catastrophe. "There's a bigger culprit that hardly anybody is talking about," he intones. "The food industry is destroying the living world and it appears to be…

VENESSA CHALMERS: 'Most meat eaters admit Veganism is ethical and good for the environment, a survey has revealed. But University of Bath experts found lovers of bacon, pork and steak also fear a plant-based diet would taste bland. Results of the poll of 1,000 meat-loving Britons showed 70 per cent thought a vegan diet was sustainable and ethical. The study, which comes while many will be attempting 'Veganuary', also revealed half of Brits believed it was healthy. However, they are clearly put off by a diet without animal produce, with half rating the food as tasteless. Although veganism…

EMIKO TERAZONO: 'Meat consumption in developed countries show signs of having peaked amid health scares and environmental and sustainability concerns. It has enormous implications for the planet, the $US1.2 trillion ($1.7 trillion) livestock meat market and individual traders... “I see it as a natural development in the food industry,” says Paul Martinelli, managing director of the meat supplier that has been working out of Smithfield since the 1980s. “There is a lot of interest in the product and our clients are asking us about it. They may choose to do it more in January and February than…

ROSIE GREENAWAY: 'Two advertisements promoting Veganism which were removed from public transport by bus company Arriva are to be reinstated after the Veganuary campaign successfully fought the decision. The ads – which launched on 20 buses in Shrewsbury and Telford on 9 December – had been organized and funded by a local vegan group and were due to run for four weeks. Arriva’s decision to remove them came after the company reported complaints, although it would not disclose the number of complaints, nor discuss their nature... Arriva initially offered a full refund for the advertising, but…

MEG ZUKIN: 'Joaquin Phoenix was an influential voice at the Golden Globes on Sunday night not just because he won best actor in a drama for his performance in “Joker.” According to sources, the actor — who is a staunch animal rights activist — also convinced the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization that runs the Golden Globes, to implement its first all-vegan menu at the ceremony’s star-studded dinner. Phoenix suggested the idea to the Globes, and played a key role in persuading them to make the switch, insiders told Variety... Phoenix obliquely acknowledged his role in the…

DAN WHITEHEAD: 'A vegan charity which encourages people to stop eating meat in January says more than one million animals could be saved throughout the month. Veganuary estimates that 350,000 people will attempt a vegan diet in January 2020, in what is the seventh year of the challenge. The organisation also claims the environmental impact of so many people going vegan will be significant. James Poore, an environmental researcher at the University of Oxford, produced the figures. He said: "We calculated the environmental impacts of the current diet and the vegan diet for every country…

JEFF MCMAHON: 'U.S. farms cost the economy more in health and environmental damage than they contribute to the economy, according to a recent study in the Publication of the National Academy of the Sciences. For 20 economic sectors, the study compares the cost of premature deaths from particulate air pollution to the value added to the economy. Farms performed worst, driven down by animal agriculture. “At the margin, we're seeing that the damages from air pollution provided by farms are larger than the marginal value that the farms provide in economic terms,” said co-author Inês M.L.…