RICE UNIVERSITY: A study led by environmental scientists at Rice University's George R. Brown School of Engineering puts numbers to the toll of reactive nitrogen species produced in America's croplands. The study led by Daniel Cohan, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, and graduate student Lina Luo quantifies emissions of nitrogen oxides, ammonia and nitrous oxide from fertilized soils over three years (2011, 2012 and 2017) and compares their impacts by region on air quality, health and climate. While seasonal and regional impacts differ across types of emission,…

KATHRYN PARSONS: In recent years, veganism as a phenomenon has accelerated its growth as a movement with tangible changes in society, on our high streets and in our shops. As equally has a palpable political alignment to the left come with it, likely due to a supposed common alliance in their liberal stances and egalitarian core. Since its roots in the French Revolution, the left has stood for equality, class struggle and the protection of people from abuses of power. In contradiction to this, typical notions of conservatism bring to the fore thoughts of injustices within capitalist…

JORDI CASAMITJANA: One of the good things about the term vegan becoming more well-known and used in mainstream society is that we now have more delicious vegan food available everywhere. One of the bad things, though, is that more people may use the term incorrectly, or co-opt the concept of veganism taking it somewhere far from what it should be. Luckily, we have the definition of the Vegan Society to set things straight: “Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food,…

GREG MILLER: Decade after decade, vessel casualties and reports of animal cruelty keep piling up. Yet another major accident occurred this month: On June 11, the livestock carrier Al Badri 1 sank after leaving its berth in Suakin, Sudan, on the Red Sea, with 15,800 sheep onboard. All crew were saved but 15,100 sheep drowned. The Tanzanian-flagged vessel was bound for Saudi Arabia. It listed and sank after reportedly being overloaded. The Al Badri 1 was built 49 years ago as a roll-on, roll-off cargo vessel. It was later converted into a livestock carrier. The latest tragedy echoes the…

SARAH LUMLEY: Almost half of meat-eating Brits admit to being “pleasantly surprised” by the taste of plant-based food. Research of 2,000 adults who eat meat found 46 per cent have previously turned their nose up at “different” foods – only to be surprised by the flavour when they actually try them. Nearly half (48 per cent) confessed they wouldn’t generally consider a meal to be “complete” unless it contained meat, while 38 per cent were doubtful about eating plant-based alternatives altogether. However, of those who were pleasantly surprised by meat substitutes, meat-free sausages,…

PAULA COCOZZA: Frances Day’s husband died during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, so there was no funeral. “It was a horrid, horrid time. I was on my own. It took a long time for me to get fairly steady,” she says. Her 82nd birthday passed, and as the summer wore on, she thought: “I’ve got to do something. I don’t want my life to end now. I want to have a few adventures. Let’s start with veganism.” Day has three children, two of whom are vegans, so she was no stranger to the idea – but for decades it had been personally unthinkable. Her late husband had traditional tastes... She…

REBECCA GREGSON: Veganism is a dietary lifestyle that boasts of benefits to the planet and personal health, underpinned by a moral philosophy. More than a fad, for many, veganism is a part of who they are. Indeed, studies have found that, relative to vegetarians, self-identified vegans report that their diet is highly central to their identity. Vegans also tend to attribute high-levels of sentience to animals, identify with animals, and strongly support animal rights. Nonetheless, maintaining a vegan lifestyle represents a significant challenge for many people. A Fauntalytics study…

SARAH GEORGE: The EU will not be able to deliver on its COP26 commitment to slash methane emissions by 30% this decade unless efforts are made to scale back livestock numbers, a new report is warning... A new report, published on 14 June by the Changing Markets Foundation and environmental consultancy CE Delft, warns that the EU itself is not implementing policy changes to deliver its own Global Methane Pledge ambitions. The bloc’s main sources of methane are fossil fuels and animal agriculture, and the report focuses on the latter, which accounts for 53% of the EU’s annual methane…

TRENT DAVIDSON: For many people, consuming fishes seems more sustainable and less morally problematic than eating chickens, pigs, cows, and other land animals. As a result, aquaculture—and fish farming specifically—has taken off in recent years. Despite this, there are many welfare issues associated with farming fishes, such as disease, environmental degradation, poor treatment, and the suffering these animals endure. As animal advocates confront these issues, they need to learn how to effectively bring them to consumers’ attention so they can mobilize the public to take action for fishes.…

ANNE-SOPHIE BRANDLIN: New plans for regulations such as a mandatory label documenting how animals were reared are supposed to improve animal welfare. Is that a right step toward more transparency for consumers - or greenwashing? Germany's federal government has come up with a draft bill for new regulations regarding animal welfare. "I want good meat from Germany to be served in the future as well. In order to do so, our farms urgently need a perspective they can rely on," Food and Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir said when introducing his plans. This perspective, he says, includes four…