news Archives - Page 4 of 11

This Utah Farm Is Sparing 100 Turkeys from the Thanksgiving Slaughter

Direct Action Everywhere

Pitman Family Farms is one of the largest farms in the country. This Thanksgiving, they’re working together with the animal rights activists at Direct Action Everywhere and its founder Wayne Hsiung to rescue 100 turkeys from a slaughterhouse.

On Monday, Hsiung will travel back to the Norbest turkey farm near Moroni, UT with hundreds of animal rights activists. The rescue site will look a bit different than last time. The group plans on handing out vegan food and holiday gifts to the plant’s employees and local residents.

In return, Rick Pitman of Pitman Family Farms, who now owns the Norbest farm, agreed to release 100 birds to the activists. Finally, the turkeys will be transported to local sanctuaries, where they will live out their days as animals, not food. The exchange promises to be touching.

news - 11/15/2018

Thanksgiving Is for Vegans, too

A long time ago, turkey became associated with giving thanks for a successful harvest. History lessons aside, what’s way more important to us today is that vegans feel comfortable participating in meat-based American holidays like Thanksgiving.

Explaining your dietary choices to family members who may have watched you eat meat for a part of your life is a challenge. But giving thanks has nothing to do with eating turkey and everything to do with family and friends (and cruelty-free pumpkin pie).

news - 11/13/2018

There’s No Covering Up the Awful Smell of Factory Farming

The FDA just okay’ed a drug that promises to mask some of the odor produced by cow manure. This decision comes just days after the EPA ruled that factory farms do not need to report air pollution levels. Masking the odor is one thing, but supporting a factory farming industry that completely ignores the consequences its farming practices have on animals by working with private companies to cover up the smell is another.

Factory farming doesn’t have a lot of good things going for it, except for the U.S. federal government. Elanco is the new, FDA-approved, odor-eating cattle drug. It will reduce the amount of ammonia produced by cattle, usually in the form of animal waste. On its own, the drug looks like a nod from regulators saying, “Yes, this works.” But then, there’s the EPA ruling on factory farm air pollution reporting. The agency decided that the current level of noxious gas output is the right level of noxious gas output for factory farms. Farms will no longer have to report the level of ammonia, or other air pollutants, that they produce.

news - 11/09/2018

YES! Prop 12 Is Now the Strongest Animal Protection Legislation in the World

Californians turned out. They voted. And they made Prop 12 happen! But now’s not the time to pat yourselves on the back (okay, maybe a little). Now’s the time to keep it going. When Prop 2 passed in 2008, the entire country responded. We can make that happen again. As they say, how goes California, so goes the nation. Let’s check in on where we stand.

The split came down to 61% for Prop 12 and 39% against. In a state with more registered voters than the population of 46 states, such a convincing win should feel even better for animal advocates around the world. Support poured out on Twitter—in the form of every single animal emoji ever—as animal lovers showed their support. The farm animal movement has not-so-quietly crept onto its biggest stage yet, and all signs point to the horizon. There’s much more to come from Prop 12 and its implications for farm animals across the country.

news - 11/08/2018

The World Needs More Vegan Chefs. Here’s Where to Look.

Vegan chefs are in high demand at the moment, so high that restaurants in London don’t know where to look. That’s largely because a third of UK consumers are reducing their meat consumption. One in eight is now vegan or vegetarian.

More people are ordering vegan, and so when restaurants don’t have a vegan option on the menu, business suffers. Part of the problem is the inability of “regular” chefs to make vegan and vegetarian options appealing. Then there’s the competitive edge of rising stars in the vegan culinary scene, many of whom are out to teach as many young chefs how to cook vegan as they can.

news - 11/07/2018

Report: Half the Country Is Against Genetically Engineered Animal Testing

According to the PEW Research Center, half of Americans support genetically engineered animal testing, while the other half oppose it. Despite this split, many companies are getting ahead of the curve and protecting animals from research. Others are still hiding their lab animals from the public eye. Here’s a look at the road ahead.

Gene editing happens naturally in the wild through evolution. Then why are scientists so worried about a generation of CRISPR-edited cattle? Genetically engineered animal testing simply is not the same as natural selection—but it’s lucrative—and animals are the ones suffering as a result.

news - 11/03/2018

Vegans Are Changing Restaurant Menus Around the World

It’s World Vegan Day! This year, the number of people who call themselves vegans tripled, and more than half of Americans say they’re trying to eat less meat. 51% of chefs celebrated all this plant-based bliss early by adding vegan items to their menus, bringing 13% more business to those chefs willing to take the plant-based plunge.

According to a recent report on food tourism, Los Angeles and Berlin are some of the most vegan-friendly cities in the world. Yes, there are vegan restaurants everywhere (Excited?! I know) but what sets many restaurants apart is their ability to provide vegan substitutes for traditional dishes.

news - 11/01/2018

What Happens to Farm Animals When Natural Disaster Strikes?

Washington state livestock industry leaders discussed disaster preparedness today in a year that has seen wildfire and floods hit agricultural centers on a scale most religious experts call “biblical.” The response of farmers towards their animals should be a top priority. The primary concern for the Washington state livestock industry, however, was not natural disaster. It was a foreign animal disease spread by the factory farming industry itself.

Wildfires rage in the West, hurricanes hit the East Coast, and (surprise) there are millions of farm animals at the center of it all. The nation’s livestock industry is still counting its losses, but farmers might not be concerned about their animals for the right reasons.

news - 11/01/2018

Robots Won’t Fix Animal Agriculture’s Welfare Problem

Cargill’s latest investments in robotics is a three-wheeled corralling robot that cost $40,000, which the company says reduces the stress of cattle.

The company, very strangely, calls the robot an “innovation in… welfare of farm animals.” As the history of animal agriculture illustrates, investments in efficiency rarely lead to increases in animal welfare. There is no reason to believe that a robot incapable of compassion would be any different.

news - 10/31/2018

Billion Vegans: The New Vegan Marketplace

There is an Amazon for vegans, and it’s helping to define what we’re calling the new vegan marketplace. Built on the belief that reliable product descriptions and affordable prices are the most important factors for the growing community of vegans shopping online, this new vegan marketplace delivers to your front door.

Billion Vegans is jumping at the opportunity for growth proven by the plant-based food industry, this time with a special, vegan-everything twist. The online marketplace carries 4,500 vegan products—from Clif Bars to kid’s shoes—that it certifies itself.

Sadly, not all products that claim to be vegan are actually vegan, especially from second-party retailers like Amazon. For Billion Vegans, giving products their own vegan stamp was a must.

news - 10/30/2018