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Grasslands and Wetlands Are Being Gobbled Up By Agriculture, Mostly Livestock
A new study takes a first-of-its kind look at how farming converts non-forested areas and major carbon sinks into cropland and pasture.
Research•4 min read
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News
Republicans’ New Farm Bill Takes Aim at Animal Welfare and Pesticide Regulations
But the bill faces steep odds of passage in a sharply-divided Congress
Policy•8 min read
News
Manure-to-Energy Digesters Were Sold as a Climate Fix. Now the USDA Is Hitting Pause.
A 90-day pause due to “loan delinquency” may signal that the viability of anaerobic digesters is being scrutinized at the federal level.
Climate•9 min read
News
Bird Flu Cases Are Surging in 2026. What Does It Mean?
Millions of birds have been exposed to the avian flu virus since the beginning of January alone.
Health•9 min read
News
If We Let Coral Reef Fish Populations Bounce Back From Overfishing, They Could Feed 1.4 Million More People
A new study finds that restoring coral reef fisheries could feed multitudes, especially where food is most needed.
Fisheries & Aquaculture•5 min read
News
Tree Bark Microbes Capture Greenhouse Gases, New Study Finds
The process plays out separately from photosynthesis, and experts say it could improve reforestation strategies.
Research•5 min read
News
Sales of Antibiotics for Farm Animals Jumped 16%, FDA Data Shows
The sharp one-year increase is raising concerns among public health experts.
Health•4 min read
News
Cows Can Use Tools. Are We Underestimating How Smart They Are?
Meet Veronika, a Swiss Brown cow who uses a broom to scratch her back.
Animal Behavior•5 min read
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People Can Give Cows Tuberculosis, But We Rarely Look For It
Cattle with drug-resistant tuberculosis lead researchers to call for better monitoring of cross-species transmission of TB.
Health•5 min read
News
A Major Agreement to Protect the Amazon Is Falling Apart After 20 Years
Amid changing political headwinds, the moratorium on soy-driven deforestation is in danger. What now?
Climate•6 min read
News
RFK Jr.’s New Dietary Guidelines Tout Meat, but They Could Actually Open the Door for More Plants in School Lunches
Here’s what the new dietary guidelines actually mean for school meals.
Diet•8 min read
News
L.A.’s Meatpacking Industry Is a Lot Like the Rest of the Country. Experts Say Here’s How to Make it Safer.
Better work training and pay structure could improve labor conditions.
Food•4 min read
News
RFK Jr.’s New Dietary Guidelines Are Out, and They’re Full of Red Meat
New guidelines say they want to “end the war on protein” and tout full-fat dairy.
Diet•4 min read
News
GLP-1 Users Lose Weight, and Their Taste for Meat
People taking blockbuster drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy report eating less meat, dairy and processed foods. These shifts could reshape the food system.
Research•3 min read
News
Veganuary Hopes You’ll Resolve to Ditch Meat, at Least for One Month
The month-long challenge gives millions a chance to try out veganism.
Diet•4 min read
News
Bird Flu Virus Might Resist Fever, Study in Mice Finds
A study in mice finds avian flu shares trait with the viruses behind some of the worst pandemics, but more research in humans is needed.
Research•5 min read
News
Our Favorites Stories of 2025
Sentient reporters, editors and staff give you some of our favorite stories of the past year.
Food•5 min read
News
Sentient Impact Report 2025
Read the Sentient Impact Report 2025, plus plans and priorities for 2026.
Policy•1 min read
News
Meat Consumption Grows in US and Asia, While Europe is on the Decline
Since 2010, meat consumption habits in the US and Europe have diverged, while many countries with the greatest increases are in Asia.
Climate•3 min read
News
More Than 71% of Americans Oppose Common Factory Farming Practices
A new poll finds widespread disapproval of standard confinement and slaughter methods used in the animal agriculture industry.
Factory Farms•5 min read
News
RFK’s New Dietary Guidelines Delayed Again, Amid Concerns
The Trump administration could miss the legal deadline to update the guidelines that shape billions of dollars of federal food spending.
Diet•6 min read
News
Costco Chicken Processing Plant Keeps Failing Tests for Salmonella
Costco’s Nebraska plant turns out contaminated chicken. And the USDA can’t stop it from reaching store shelves.
Food•5 min read
News
Senate Finally OKs Plant-Based Milk in Public Schools
A newly-passed Senate bill would remove the federal restriction on serving non-dairy milks in school lunches.
Policy•5 min read
News
Corn’s Clean-Energy Promise Is Clashing With Its Climate Footprint
Corn dominates U.S. farmland and fuels the ethanol industry. But the fertilizer it relies on drives emissions and fouls drinking water.
Climate•15 min read
News
Could Genetically Engineered Fungus Help Replace Animal Protein?
Microscopic fungi haven’t seemed like a scalable alternative to meat. CRISPR could change that.
Breakthroughs•5 min read
News
Nearly Everyone Will Need to Change Their Diets by 2050 to Meet Climate Goals — Study Suggests
Researchers estimate that 44% of the population in 2012 had dietary habits fueling food-related emissions.
Research•4 min read
News
The Trump Administration Wants to Gut The Clean Water Act
A new regulation would dramatically limit which waters are protected from pollution.
Policy•8 min read
News
COP30 Has Big Plans to Save the Rainforest. Indigenous Activists Say It’s Not Enough.
By some estimates, 13 percent of the original Amazon forest has been lost to deforestation, much of that due to beef production.
Climate•6 min read
News
Tyson Foods Decides to Drop ‘Climate-Smart’ Beef Label
Two recent cases may deter unfounded climate claims for meat.
Legal Action•5 min read
News
Iowa Counties Keep Water Quality Monitoring Afloat After State Funding Cuts
The network offers key information for a state struggling with water pollution from agricultural runoff.
Climate•5 min read
News
EXCLUSIVE: Clean Water Advocate Chris Jones Takes Step Toward Iowa Agriculture Secretary Run
“I think we need to rethink agriculture,” the professor-turned-advocate tells Sentient.
Climate•2 min read
News
Oklahoma Officials Clash Over Tyson Pollution Case
Attorney General Gentner Drummond is seeking more than $100 million from poultry companies over water pollution from chicken farms.
Legal Action•2 min read
News
Slaughterhouses Harbor Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria That Give People Urinary Tract Infections
A growing body of evidence links antibiotic overuse in meat production to infections in humans.
Food•6 min read
News
Nigerian Activists Push Back on JBS and Government Slaughterhouse Plans
The multinational corporation’s plans are part of a broader trend of inequity in global food production.
Food•6 min read
News
Squid on U.S. Tables May Come From Vessels Linked to Human Rights Abuses
Most buyers sourcing squid from vessels accused of crew abuse and deaths are based in North America — nearly half in the U.S. and one-third in Canada.
Policy•9 min read
News
USDA Deletes SNAP Emergency Funding Plan From Its Website
The Trump administration’s USDA is refusing to release around $6 billion in contingency funds designated for a lapse in SNAP benefits.
Policy•4 min read
News
Methane Emissions from the World’s Biggest Meat Companies Are Bigger Than From Major Oil and Gas Companies
Ahead of COP30, advocacy groups are urging companies and governments to tackle emissions from livestock.
Climate•5 min read
News
EXCLUSIVE: Iowa Officials Quietly Fast-Tracked Legal Settlement With Major Meatpacker, Environmental Group Alleges
An email from the Iowa assistant attorney general revealed plans to file the settlement with the court later in the day to avoid media scrutiny.
Legal Action•4 min read
News
Trump’s USDA Pivots From Big Meat to Feed and Fertilizer Prices
The shift marks an end to the broader Biden-era fight against consolidation throughout the supply chain.
Policy•4 min read
News
Meat Consumption in U.S. Cities Produces as Much Climate Pollution as Powering Homes
Researchers found emissions from beef, pork and chicken consumption exceeded the entire carbon footprint of Italy.
Research•6 min read
News
Trump’s Tariffs Have U.S. Soybean Farmers Looking for Buyers
President Trump’s trade war has hit America’s biggest agricultural export.
Policy•5 min read
News
Walmart Looks to Tighten Its Grip On Beef Supply Chain
The nation’s largest retailer is poised to become a significant player in the beef industry, owning cattle from slaughter to sale.
Food•9 min read
News
Air Pollution from Factory Farms Can be Lethal — and Secret. An Appeal Pushes the EPA for Transparency.
Nearly a dozen environmental and community groups are challenging the EPA’s exemption that farms don’t need to report hazardous gases released from animal waste.
Policy•4 min read
News
Iowa Beach Advisories for E. Coli and Other Pathogens Hit All-Time High
The summer of 2025 was the most un-swimmable Iowa summer yet, thanks in part to pollution from farms.
Climate•4 min read
News
How a U.S. Government Shutdown Affects Agriculture and Farmers
While SNAP payments and food safety inspections continue, disaster payments, farm loans and federal workers’ pay are on hold indefinitely.
Policy•9 min read
News
Federal Worker-Safety Commission Has Zero Members as Backlog Grows
The federal agency that oversees disputes of workplace safety violations, including in meatpacking plants, has been without leadership for more than five months.
Food•3 min read
News
How Factory Farm Air Pollution Can Spread Dangerous Bacteria
Factory farm dust can spread E. coli and could have sparked a large food poisoning outbreak in 2018, a new study shows.
Science•5 min read
News
How a California Clean Energy Program Became a Boon for Big Dairies
Central Valley residents say the state’s program for cutting methane emissions incentivizes factory farms and leaves local communities gasping.
Climate•9 min read
News
The Study Big Meat Tried to Bury — and Why It Matters Again
When a sweeping scientific study called for eating less meat, the meat industry launched a full-scale attack. And we could be in for a repeat.
Food•9 min read
News
BREAKING: Environmental Groups Sue EPA Over Slaughterhouse Pollution Withdrawals
10 groups, including Earthjustice and the Environmental Integrity Project, filed suit in the Ninth Circuit, arguing that the EPA is ignoring its own findings.
Policy•4 min read
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Most Read Today
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Sentient investigates and explains factory farms and their effect on climate, the environment, animals, health, politics and rural communities.