Jessica Scott-Reid

Perspective

The Cruelest Part of Dairy Farming Is Totally Legal

Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the inherent cruelty behind dairy farming, but farmers are quick to come to its defense.

Policy•5 min read

Perspective

Animal Testing Isn’t Just Ineffective. It’s Holding Us Back.

The FDA believes that animal testing is necessary for medical research. But according to lawmakers, researchers, and scientists, that kind of thinking is holding us back.

Animal Testing•4 min read

Perspective

There Is No Such Thing as Sustainable Beef

The beef industry is trying to clean up its image by promising that it's doing more to help the climate crisis than hurt it. Science says otherwise.

Climate•4 min read

Reported

Raising Vegans: Parents Counter Big Ag’s Influence in the Classroom

Vegans see the world differently, even from a young age. Jessica Scott-Reid shares some of the challenges of raising her daughter, who just started kindergarten, vegan.

Policy•5 min read

Perspective

First Carbon Offsets. Now, Animal Testing Offsets?

Can paying for an animal testing-free future make people feel better about getting vaccinated? Jessica Scott-Reid explores the novel new concept of animal testing offsets.

Animal Testing•5 min read

Reported

When 4-H Kids Choose Sanctuary Over Slaughter

Writer Jessica Scott-Reid has a message for 4-H children everywhere who dutifully raise farmed animals only to watch them sold off to the highest bidder: There is another option.

Policy•5 min read

Perspective

Why Factory Farming’s Pandemic Risk Is Being Ignored

Activists, disease specialists, and environmentalists are making the connection between the way we eat and the risk it poses to public health. Sometimes it feels like they're the only ones.

Health•4 min read

Perspective

The Unwritten Rule of Animal Rescue: Don’t Call the Cops

If you see an animal in need, the unwritten rule is: don’t call the cops. Instead, rescuers rely on a community of caregivers and activists to help find these animals…

Policy•5 min read

Analysis

The Quiet Power of Farmed Animal Sanctuaries

Unique connections are made at farmed animal sanctuaries, and a new study shows that they have the power to inspire real change in their visitors.

Policy•5 min read

Perspective

How Grass-Fed Beef Is Duping Consumers, Again

Meat producers are trying to trick the rapidly growing sector of eco-conscious consumers into believing that they are partners in the solution to climate change. And people are eating it…

Climate•6 min read

Perspective

Taking on Canada’s Horse Meat Industry

Like the rest of animal agriculture, Canada's horse meat industry thrives in secrecy. Advocates are working tirelessly to shut it down.

Policy•4 min read

Reported

The Psychology Behind Loving Ducks and Eating Them Too

During the pandemic, raising a baby duck became a trendy new pastime, but it's not as easy as it looks. Jessica Scott-Reid examines the complicated relationship between the animals we…

Policy•4 min read

Reported

Going Beyond the Cow: Beyond Meat’s New Commercial Asks Us to Rethink the Way We Eat

Could a burger made of plants really be better for us, for the animals, and for the planet? Beyond Meat's answer: Absolutely.

Health•4 min read

Reported

When Gassing Animals to Death Doesn’t Work

If gassing doesn't always work, why is it an approved method of depopulating farmed animals? Award-winning veterinarian Dr. Jonas Watson explains.

Law & Justice•4 min read

Reported

Vigils and Rescues Ramp Up in the Wake of Activist’s Death

Celebrities are joining thousands of others to commemorate the life of animal rights activist Regan Russell, who was fatally struck by a transport truck at a slaughterhouse vigil in Canada…

Policy•4 min read

Reported

At Black Lives Matter Protests, Police Horses Become Another Troubling Symbol of Oppression

Interactions between Black people and mounted police at recent protests are a stark reminder of the country's racist past.

Policy•4 min read

Perspective

“Petting Farms” Become Popular Post-Lockdown, But They Aren’t as Cute as They Seem

Petting farms—like petting zoos for farmed animals—perpetuate unrealistic ideas of animal farming, broadening the disconnect between the baby animals we love and the butchered animals we eat.

Policy•4 min read

Reported

COVID-19 Exposes Flaws in Animal Protein Production

The food system is on the verge of collapse. To avoid future disruptions, we cannot continue using animals to mass-produce meat, dairy, and eggs.

Food•4 min read

Reported

Slaughterhouses: Where Animal Rights and Workers’ Rights Suffer in Symphony

COVID-19 is exposing slaughterhouses as one of society’s most exploitative and unstable industries. In cramped, unsanitary conditions, workers and animals suffer endlessly.

Policy•3 min read

Reported

Farmed Animals Culled En Masse as COVID-19 Outbreaks Halt Meat and Dairy Production

With COVID-19 closures impacting meat and dairy supply chains, the industry faces a choice: stay open and risk the lives of its employees, or shut down and force farmers to…

Food•3 min read

Perspective

Sanctuary Farms Offer a Model for Future Food System

A handful of farms across North America are blurring ethical lines by incorporating rescued farm animals into plant production. Is this the solution to our broken food system, or part…

Policy•5 min read

Perspective

Mass Killing of Lab Animals During Pandemic Calls into Question Necessity and Cost of Animal Models

When researchers needed fast results for a possible COVID-19 vaccine, they skipped over testing the new drug on animals first. If the tests were "extraneous," why experiment on animals to…

Animal Testing•5 min read

Perspective

Beyond #MooToo: Limitations Within Feminist Vegan Slogans

Is popular vegan messaging missing the mark? Carol J. Adams, author of The Sexual Politics of Meat, explains how the new #MooToo slogan does more to hurt feminist vegan theory…

Policy•5 min read

Reported

Dissociation and Delusion on a Dairy Farm: A Former Farm Worker Speaks Out

Susana Romatz struggled to mentally cope with the demands of working on a dairy goat farm—like separating mother goats from their babies—until she said enough was enough.

Policy•7 min read

Reported

At Least 2 Million Animals Killed in Barn Fires in US Since 2017

Amidst the news of animals dying in burning zoos and wildfires, Jessica Scott-Reid writes of the lack of protection afforded to farmed animals in North America.

Food•3 min read

Perspective

Ag-Gag Laws Keep Animal Farming in the Dark and Diminish Public Trust

Who or what are ag-gag laws truly serving? Not the animals being exploited and killed behind closed doors, and not the public being kept in the dark, only growing more…

Law & Justice•4 min read

Perspective

We Now Know Fish Feel Pain. Why Continue Harming Them In The Billions?

The science is clear: fish can feel pain and want to avoid it. Can we continue to ignore the facts in the face of killing as many as one trillion…

Food•4 min read

Reported

Advocates Agree: Increasing Kill Line Speeds Puts Animals and Workers at Risk

In the name of efficiency and productivity, kill line speeds are increasing in North American slaughterhouses. This is very bad for the animals, and bad for the people, too.

Food•4 min read

Perspective

Step 1: Strike for the Climate. Step 2: Go Vegan.

It's inspiring to see so many people around the world taking Greta Thunberg's lead and marching for the climate. But is marching enough?

Climate•3 min read

Perspective

Vegan Ethics Alone Won’t Save The Planet: Five Thoughts for Greener Veganism

There is a merging of movements afoot, as animal liberation and environmentalism meet with the same goal to rescue our dying planet. Jessica Scott-Reid examines criticism of veganism's green credentials.

Climate•7 min read

Perspective

Summertime is the Cruelest Time for Sled Dogs

August is often the hottest month in the Northern hemisphere. Jessica Scott-Reid discusses what this means for sled dogs, who serve their owners' purpose only during the winter.

Policy•5 min read

Perspective

Farmed Animal Transport: The Cruelest Leg Along the Road to Slaughter

There is no humane way to load a sentient being into a truck to send them off to a death they do not desire. Jessica Scott-Reid examines the fight against…

Food•5 min read