SUBSIDIES

MARK DUELL: Four animal rights activists rested on hammocks... seven hours after scaling the Defra and Home Office building in London as they demanded 'government support for a plant-based food system' at Cop26. The campaigners from Animal Rebellion climbed up the structure on Marsham Street in Westminster, which houses both Government departments, before dawn at about 6am - and were still attached to it by 1pm ... The group, which was founded in July 2019, said it would continue to take action until the Government 'defunds meat and subsidises a plant-based transition' – and the protesters…

KARI HAMERSCHLAG: As the climate crisis boils over, new research shows that reducing methane emissions is our best hope to rapidly stem the crisis. It’s time to turn up the heat on the industrial meat industry and dramatically curtail its climate harm, which includes 32% of global methane emissions. Yet instead development banks are using public funds to expand this sector that generates 16.5% of total greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). On 19 and 20 October, hundreds of public development banks (PDBs) will gather for the second Finance in Common Summit to make pledges to advance Paris climate…

SALLY HO: Milked, a new documentary film following the journey of activist Chris Huriwai, is set to expose the “whitewash” of New Zealand’s multibillion-dollar dairy industry. From a land of no cows to becoming the national pride of New Zealand, the movie chronicles the industry’s rise and ongoing cover-up of its environmental, ethical, and health impact... “MILKED reveals the behind-the-scenes reality of the kiwi dairy farming fairy-tale,” reads the synopsis of the film. “It uncovers alarming information about the impacts of the industry on the environment and health, leading up to the…

MATTHEW REYNOLDS: I have a nagging feeling that I may be a bad vegan. Despite avoiding meat for eight years – and going fully plant-based for the last three – I don’t think I’ve convinced a single person to join me in giving up meat. In fact, I’m worried that I may be having the opposite effect... For a vegan, I am suspiciously obsessed with finding ways for people to carry on eating meat. It’s not that veganism isn’t great. If you’re considering it, go for it; cutting out meat and dairy could slash the carbon emissions associated with your diet by half, and for many people, switching to a…

EMILY QUINTON: Animal agriculture is the second largest global emitter of CO2. With more than 88 billion animals raised and slaughtered for food each year, intensive livestock farming is responsible for 14.5 per cent to 16.5 per cent of the world’s human-made greenhouse gas emissions, exceeding emission levels from global transport combined. And yet, inexplicably, animal agriculture is not on the COP26 agenda as a priority in discussions on the mitigation of global warming. It is impossible to meet the targets set in the Paris Agreement without making changes to our global food system. Even…

DANIEL FUNKE: As Congress deliberates trillions of dollars worth of spending on infrastructure and social welfare programs before a looming government shutdown, some online claim the legislation includes a new tax on farmers. A Sept. 27 Facebook post says the "$3.5 Trillion Infrastructure package includes an animal agriculture tax on dairy cows in the amount of $6,500.00 and $2,600.00 per head of other cattle." "It also includes an agriculture tax in the amount of $500.00 on swine (pigs- hogs) raised in the United States," the post says. "AND that would be for each and every year." The post…

CONOR POPE: Journalist and author Henry Mance’s new book "How to Love Animals in a Human-Shaped World" examines ethical and environmental costs of meat production... In the book, Henry Mance becomes a slaughterhouse worker and – with absolutely no training – is charged with skinning lambs, it is impossible to shelter from the painful reality that our relationship with animals on virtually every conceivable level is so often simply wrong. His thesis is that unless we change how we see animals we will make the climate catastrophe even worse than it is going to be and the lives of all animals…

ALDF: An estimated 9 billion land animals are raised and killed for food every year in the United States – many are subjected to immense cruelty. Whether motivated by concern for animals, the environment, or health, more and more consumers are choosing plant-based products.Students should have that choice too. The Healthy Future Students and Earth Act (H.R. 4108) would help address this problem by providing voluntary grant funding to schools, enabling them to expand access to healthy, plant-based, environmentally friendlier food choices in school meals. Because the factory farming industry…

VEGAN MAGAZINE: ProVeg International is one of more than 80 organizations who have co-signed an open letter urging the 50 countries that eat the most meat to raise prices for meat and dairy and reduce prices for fruit and vegetables. The open letter has been co-signed by organizations representing over 5,000 companies, investors, banks, farmers, and youth and food organizations in 100 countries, as well as by NGOs working on issues around animal welfare, climate, environment, nature, and public health. The letter will be presented to world leaders at the United Nations Food Systems Summit…

AGI KAJA: The campaign for a ‘Plant Based Treaty‘ aims to create bottom-up pressure for leaders to negotiate a global agreement to halt the impact of animal agriculture on the planet... it is a grassroots campaign designed to put food systems at the forefront of combating the climate crisis modelled on the popular Fossil Fuel Treaty... The campaign will work towards 10 million individuals, 10,000 organisations, 10,000 businesses and 50 cities to endorse the treaty by 2023, ahead of the Global Stocktake of the Paris Agreement (GST). Several high-profile celebrities have given their support…