Jessica Scott-Reid is Sentient's Disinformation Correspondent covering disinformation, misinformation and the impact of both on culture. A freelance journalist based in Canada, Jessica has covered animals, the environment and food systems for major media in Canada and beyond, for the last decade. Jessica has been a contributor to Sentient since 2019, and her work also appears regularly in The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Winnipeg Free Press and Corporate Knights Magazine.
Perspective
During the pandemic, plant-based meat consumption and media coverage exploded. Now, a host of trend pieces decry its demise. That shift is no organic accident.
Diet•6 min read
Reported
The Honorable Murray Sinclair worked to pass The Jane Goodall Act, which would turn Indigenous teachings on animals and wildlife into law.
Law & Justice•6 min read
Reported
Much of the farmed shrimp eaten in the U.S. is raised in India, where antibiotic use is rampant and underreported.
Aquaculture•5 min read
Reported
A growing chorus of animal advocates and researchers argue farm animal gifts cause more harm than good.
Investigations•4 min read
Reported
Consumers say they prefer "cage-free" eggs, yet some producers are slow to adapt.
Food•4 min read
Analysis
New research shows Canadians can reach their climate goals by reducing meat and dairy consumption.
Climate•4 min read
Reported
A new paper finds businesses that exploit captive animals for profit are marketing themselves as sanctuaries to draw in conscious consumers.
Policy•5 min read
Reported
Iowa residents once had a right to sue polluting factory farm neighbors, Now the Iowa Supreme Court has taken that right away.
Law & Justice•5 min read
Perspective
Media bias goes far beyond the pages of newspapers and websites. It feeds a culture and legal system that allows animal suffering to go unnoticed.
Policy•4 min read
Perspective
The farm-to-table movement promised better, more sustainable food. But the idea has been co-opted by meat and dairy producers, who exploit it for their own financial gain.
Food•5 min read
Perspective
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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—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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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Sentient investigates and explains factory farms and their effect on climate, the environment, animals, health, politics and rural communities.
