ALTERNATIVES

JAN DECKERS: In this book, Jan Deckers addresses the most crucial question that people must deliberate in relation to how we should treat other animals: whether we should eat animal products. Many people object to the consumption of animal products from the conviction that it inflicts pain, suffering, and death upon animals. This book argues that a convincing ethical theory cannot be based on these important concerns: rather, it must focus on our interest in human health. Tending to this interest demands not only that we extend speciesism—the attribution of special significance to members…

KATIE KORTEPETER: The Law & Religion Clinic at the University of Texas and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression filed a lawsuit against the City of Houston, several Houston police officers, and Discovery Green Conservancy after police officers arrested an animal rights advocate for refusing to give up his First Amendment right to free speech in Discovery Green, a public park described as the “crown jewel of public spaces in downtown Houston.” The management of Houston’s public Discovery Green Park was concerned that passers-by might be “offended” by the advocates’…

CHARIS FUNG: “For you, it’s a meal. For them, it's their life.” This is one of the many slogans tourists and locals encountered beneath their feet outside Canterbury West Station on the sunny Saturday morning of September 2, 2023. Though a select few hurriedly strolled past without taking much notice, many passersby were surprised to see a large section of the previously unremarkable pavement bursting with colour from vegan messages and designs in chalk. “Pretty much everyone walking past is reading the messages on the ground,” said Alex, one of the activists involved in the chalking, “It's…

SILVIA PANIZZA: Discussion about the ethics of buying and consuming animal products normally assume that there are two choices equally available to moral agents: to engage or not to engage in such behaviour... In some cases, the experience of those who refuse to participate in animal exploitation is not a choice, but a reconfiguration of their understanding of what animals, and the products made out of them, are. Such reconfiguration involves not seeing animals as something to eat, wear, control, etc. Hence, it is not always correct to speak of veganism as a choice: the reason being that,…

MANASEE WAGH: About 40 years ago, the first beef burger—grown from cow stem cells in a laboratory setting—hit the frying pan. This landmark achievement in “cultured meat” made news headlines because it sidestepped the cow’s meat entirely. While this endeavor created a $325,000 burger, more than 100 startup companies have since taken up the challenge to perfect not only cultured beef, but also chicken, pork, and fish, in hopes of scaling up the process, lowering the cost, and ultimately bringing cruelty-free meat to your table. For example, BELIEVER Meats, headquartered in Rehovot, Israel,…

JONNY ANOMALY, ET AL: Synthetic meat made from animal cells will transform how we eat. It will reduce suffering by eliminating the need to raise and slaughter animals. But it will also have big public health benefits if it becomes widely consumed. In this paper, we discuss how “clean meat” can reduce the risks associated with intensive animal farming, including antibiotic resistance, environmental pollution, and zoonotic viral diseases like influenza and coronavirus. Since the most common objection to clean meat is that some people find it “disgusting” or “unnatural,” we explore the…

EMMA BRYCE: Untangling the worst impacts of livestock on our planet won’t require us to completely reject meat and dairy: in fact, replacing 50% of these products with novel plant-based substitutes in our global diet would chop agricultural and land-use emissions by 31% in just 30 years. More intriguingly, that figure could be doubled if the land released by livestock was devoted to reforestation. There’s lots of talk about how transitioning to novel plant based foods like meatless burgers and soy sausages can revolutionize our food system. But until this study there hasn’t been a global…

WORLD ANIMAL PROTECTION: 'The Thoughtful Pig', a groundbreaking global campaign in partnership with World Animal Protection and All Mighty Pictures, is a new initiative that aims to raise awareness about the devastating impacts of factory farming on animals and the environment. Jorge Montiel, animation director at The Mill (a British VFX production company and creative studio headquartered in London, England)... has been instrumental in bringing the campaign's visual elements to life. "At the heart of this campaign lies our protagonist, a photorealistic CGI pig asking the question that tugs…

UNIVERSITY OF YORK: Dr. Helen Cowie from the University of York's Department of History is investigating human-animal relationships throughout history. Dr. Cowie's research, published in a book, "Animals in World History," which is due out next year, shows that instead of steady progress to eliminate animal cruelty, the priorities of animal welfare organizations have instead evolved to tackle new and emerging problems that reflect the changing attitudes of humans towards animals. Dr. Cowie highlights, for example, that in the 1820s the emphasis was on the elimination of blood sports such as…

NATION WORLD NEWS: Lawyers for a vegan firefighter argued in court that veganism is a non-religious belief and therefore the right is included in the Ontario Human Rights Code. Their client, Adam Knauff, was suspended in 2017 because he protested against his employer for not providing him with vegan meals at his workplace. Adam Knauff says that veganism is more than a life choice or way of life, but a belief. He even talked about ethical behavior and an undeniable characteristic of his personality... says that he is against all cruelty to animals, the exploitation of dairy cows and chickens…