GOVERNMENT

PROVEG: Cultured meat has the potential to greatly improve the competitiveness and sustainability of the meat industry in Europe. But what are the governments’ appetite for cultured meat like in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK? How are they reacting to this new method of producing meat, and which country is leading the race for cultured meat in Europe? In December 2020, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) approved the sale of Californian startup Eat Just’s bite-sized chicken product made with cultured meat. The SFA was the first, and remains the only, regulatory authority in…

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,…

GARY L. FRANCIONE: Before the 19th century, at least in the West, animals were largely excluded from the moral and legal community. They were considered as things. This is contrasted with Eastern thinking, which generally accorded at least some moral value to animals that accounted for the vegetarianism that remains prevalent in the Jain, Hindu and most Buddhist traditions. The Western view was that we could have moral and legal obligations that concerned animals but were not owed to them. To the extent that the cruel treatment of animals was thought to present a moral problem, it was only…

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…

SOPHIE KEVANY: Tens of millions of farm animals in the US are dying before they can be slaughtered, according to a Guardian investigation exposing the deadly conditions under which animals are transported around the country. Approximately 20 million chickens, 330,000 pigs and 166,000 cattle are dead on arrival, or soon after, at abattoirs in the US every year, analysis of publicly available data shows. A further 800,000 pigs are calculated to be unable to walk on arrival. Official records of how the animals died are not published, but veterinarian and welfare specialists told the Guardian…

NEIL SHAW: An award-winning veterinary nurse who supported an animal liberation movement was sacked after a police raid found she was keeping a rescued turkey in her flat, an employment tribunal heard. 'Ethical vegan' Shakira Free Miles had rescued the 'unwell' bird, called Dorothy, and had taken it to hospital two days after Christmas Day as it could not stand, the hearing was told. But the turkey was discovered by officers in the university-provided home she lived in when she was being investigated for potential involvement in activist group the Animal Liberation Front. At the time, Ms…

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…

ALEX BINDER: It’s been three years since two hundred animal rights advocates descended on the Excelsior Hog Farm on April 28, 2019 “to expose the reality of what is happening to the victims of the ‘meat’ industry and to challenge the current mindset within our society,” according to the activist group Meat The Victims. Over a year later, a total of four activists were facing multiple charges, however today, three of them stand trial at the end of June 2022. During the farm action, approximately 50 of the activists got inside the building where they witnessed deceased pigs in a dumpster,…