Reported
13 Groups Sued EPA Demanding Stricter CAFO Regulation — the Court Struck Them Down
The Ninth Circuit backed EPA’s response to polluted water: 'study further' and form a subcommittee.
Law & Justice•8 min read
Law & Justice
Reported
How City Climate Plans Became a Culture War Target
Inside the growing movement to frame climate action as Marxist and anti-God.
Law & Justice•5 min read
Reported
The Italian Far Right’s Beef with Vegans and Immigrants
How food is politicized in a culture known for its cuisine.
Law & Justice•8 min read
Reported
FBI Records Reveal Ironic Accusations Against Animal Activists
A recent investigation finds the FBI considering ‘weapons of mass destruction statutes’ against activists.
Law & Justice•6 min read
Reported
How Big Ag Is Trying to Buck Regulations to Prevent Pollution
The state’s biggest business lobby helps two residents challenge a Polk County town’s restrictions on livestock feeding operations.
Law & Justice•5 min read
Explainer
The Best & Worst Countries for Animal Welfare Are Difficult to Measure
An imperfect but important ranking system, explained.
Law & Justice•7 min read
Explainer
How the Meat Industry Shapes U.S. Politics (and Vice-Versa)
A big question, answered briefly.
Law & Justice•11 min read
Analysis
The Loss of Chevron Could Also Be a Major Loss for Animals
A new Supreme Court ruling effectively guts the regulatory power of federal agencies.
Law & Justice•6 min read
Investigation
Inside the Billion-Dollar Feed Industry’s Ploy to Greenwash Emissions
A new law would allow the livestock industry to fast-track federal review of feed additives.
Law & Justice•4 min read
Solutions
The Case for Investing Billions in Lab-Grown Meat
A new report argues for a massive federal investment in food system innovation.
Law & Justice•5 min read
Explainer
Democratic vs. Republican Farm Bill Proposals: a Comparison
How they differ — and what’s at stake — explained.
Law & Justice•8 min read
Reported
A Tyson Exec Wrote Kentucky’s Ag-Gag Law. What Could Go Wrong?
Lawmakers overrode the governor’s veto in order to ban drone investigations in the state.
Law & Justice•4 min read
Explainer
Ag-Gag Laws, and the Fight Over Them, Explained
What you need to know about how these laws seek to censure whistleblowers.
Law & Justice•11 min read
Reported
New Supreme Court Case Threatens Legal Protections for Animals
Ending the Chevron doctrine could be devastating for farm animals and wildlife.
Law & Justice•7 min read
Explainer
5 Ways Taxpayers Bail Out Factory Farms
The way we produce meat and dairy is responsible for all sorts of damage, and taxpayers end up footing the bill.
Law & Justice•6 min read
Reported
How the Farm Bill Could Quietly Reverse Prop 12
The new language would block states from regulating animal welfare on factory farms.
Law & Justice•8 min read
Explainer
8 Important Laws for Animals to Watch Out for in 2024
The year ahead brings new legal challenges for animals and the advocates working to protect them.
Law & Justice•8 min read
Explainer
The Most Important Animal Policy Stories of 2023
The last year saw policy fights play out on both the state and national level.
Law & Justice•4 min read
Reported
House Passes Whole Milk Bill, Rejects Bid to Include Dairy Alternatives
Up to 80 percent of BIPOC students are unable to digest dairy, but schools are still not required to provide alternatives.
Law & Justice•3 min read
Reported
Animal Rights Activist Wayne Hsiung Found Guilty in Open Rescue Case
After eight weeks, jurors found Wayne Hsiung guilty of one felony and two misdemeanor charges.
Law & Justice•4 min read
Reported
Inside the Fight — and Failure — of North Carolina’s Ag-Gag Law
Courts continue to see factory farm investigations as protected free speech.
Law & Justice•4 min read
Reported
The Turkey Pardon’s History Reveals our Strange Relationship to Animals
The seemingly humane tradition, which can be traced back to meat lobbyists, correlates with a rise in turkey consumption.
Law & Justice•5 min read
Reported
211 Members of Congress Now Oppose the EATS Act
Three charts document the lawmakers taking a position on the controversial EATS Act, and the votes still up for grabs.
Law & Justice•2 min read
Reported
Two Bills Ignite Congressional Battle Over School Milk Choice
Young activists are fighting back against government policies to serve only cow’s milk in public schools when only a fraction of the population can digest it.
Law & Justice•6 min read
Reported
A New Hub for Suing Factory Farms Launches
Fighting industrial meat and dairy conglomerates requires cooperation and a belief in the possibility of food justice.
Law & Justice•3 min read
Reported
A New Open Rescue Trial Is Now Underway. Here’s the Latest.
Defendants face jail time for removing 70 birds from factory farms and providing them with medical care.
Law & Justice•5 min read
Reported
Tofurky Sues Texas Over Latest Plant-Based Labeling Law
The Texas law could force plant-based companies to spend millions in redesign expenses and still end up afoul of the vague requirements.
Law & Justice•4 min read
Explainer
The Dog Meat Trade Is Still Legal in Some Countries – Here’s What You Need To Know
Here’s what you need to know about the dog meat industry, and the western hypocrisies about eating animals it reveals.
Law & Justice•10 min read
Explainer
What Farm Subsidies Are and Why They Matter, Explained
Farm subsidies make meat and dairy much cheaper – but fruits and vegetables? Not so much. Here’s why.
Law & Justice•11 min read
Analysis
8 Key Laws Under Threat From the EATS Act
The new bill represents the single biggest challenge to animal welfare laws, but food safety and honey bee protections are also at risk.
Law & Justice•10 min read
Explainer
When Does Prop 12 Go Into Effect — and Will It Be Properly Enforced?
California’s Prop 12 faced industry opposition because it has huge implications for animal welfare. Now that it’s been upheld by the Supreme Court, here’s what’s next.
Law & Justice•11 min read
Explainer
The Animal Welfare Act Actually Doesn’t Protect Most Animals
Why are so many animals left out of the Animal Welfare Act? We explain the history of the law, and its shortcomings.
Law & Justice•9 min read
Explainer
What Is the Difference Between Animal Rights and Animal Welfare?
Animal welfare advocates and animal rights groups are sometimes at odds. In this explainer, we dig into where the two approaches diverge.
Law & Justice•6 min read
Explainer
What Are Right to Farm Laws?
Right to farm laws are increasingly used to protect industrial meat operations from answering for their air and water pollution.
Law & Justice•4 min read
Explainer
The Farm Bill Is Crucial. Here’s Why.
The farm bill is a collection of laws that governs our food system, including subsidies and federal nutrition benefits known as SNAP.
Law & Justice•7 min read
Reported
LA Teen Sues School District — And the USDA — To Promote Nondairy Milk
A growing number of students are fighting back against the government's milk mandate.
Law & Justice•8 min read
Perspective
How Cattle Ranchers in the West Cut Off Indigenous Water Rights
Big Ag has demanded billions of federal dollars to reduce its water usage.
Law & Justice•6 min read
Reported
Supreme Court Upholds Prop 12
In a 5-4 majority opinion, the Court upheld the rights of California voters to require pork sold in the state meet animal welfare requirements.
Law & Justice•8 min read
Reported
Honorable Murray Sinclair On Indigenous Obligation to Beings of Creation
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
Factory Farms Are Sourcing Their Cheap Labor From Prisons
A new research project illuminates the connection between prisons and meat processors, and how both benefit from incarcerated labor.
Law & Justice•9 min read
Explainer
What Is Animal Welfare?
Public opinion polls find strong levels of support for animal welfare laws aimed at improving the treatment of farm animals.
Law & Justice•9 min read
Reported
Can Precision Breeding Be Good for Animal Welfare? It’s Complicated.
Campaigners say the U.K.'s Genetic Technology Bill doesn't do enough to protect farm animals.
Law & Justice•6 min read
Analysis
Two Recent Court Cases Shift the Future of the Animal Rights Movement
The Smithfield and Excelsior trials ended with very different decisions that could impact the future of the movement.
Law & Justice•5 min read
Reported
California’s Proposition 12: Animal Protection Groups Fear Supreme Court Reversal
Earlier this week, animal protection groups filed briefs in support of Proposition 12, California's landmark animal protection law.
Law & Justice•8 min read
Reported
Iowa Residents Have Lost an Important Right to Sue Factory Farms
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
Animal Exploitation Industries Thwart Legal Progress — Here’s How
Happy the Elephant's case shows how animal exploitation industries obstruct legal progress.
Law & Justice•5 min read
Perspective
Happy the Elephant’s Case Offers Hope for Animal Rights
While Happy remains behind bars, the elephant's legal team says the case represents a paradigm shift in the way humans grant legal rights to animals.
Law & Justice•6 min read
Reported
Meet Scott Weathers: Plant-Based Politician and Public Health Advocate
Weathers is running for State Representative in the city of Stowe, Vermont, where he says "the status quo isn't working" anymore.
Law & Justice•6 min read
Reported
Advocates Promise Solutions to Australia’s ‘Outdated’ Animal Laws
Newcomer to the animal protection scene Australian Alliance for Animals sets out to fix the country’s "broken" animal welfare regulatory systems.
Law & Justice•6 min read
Reported
A New Bill Aims to Counteract a Decades-Long Trend: The Decline of the Black Farmer
“This bill could help usher in a new generation of African American farmers,” a Black producer said. “But, if it fails, it’s gonna continue to dwindle.”
Law & Justice•8 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.