bug food

Meat Producers Have a New Animal to Farm

The edible insect market is projected to hit $1.2 billion by 2023. But advocates are questioning the motives behind this surprising new trend.

drone field

How Drones Could Help Us Coexist With Wildlife

Human-wildlife conflict is on the rise. Drones offer us a kinder future for wildlife management, one that protects both people and animals.

cow stall

Is Smart Farming Making Life Worse for Farmed Animals?

New technology is making farmers’ lives easier, but the increased efficiency they bring often comes at the cost of farmed animals.

operating table

Inside the Pig Heart Transplant and Ethical Dilemma That Followed

David Bennett died two months after having a pig heart transplanted into his body, leaving doctors more questions than answers about the future of this “groundbreaking” technology.

burger table

How ‘Farm-to-Table’ Was Co-Opted by Big Meat and Dairy

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.

european beaver

The Future of Beavers Depends on Learning Lessons From the Past

For years, Scottish farmers saw the native beaver population as a menace. They learned it’s much easier to work with nature’s problem solvers than against them.

chicken packaging

How Pop Culture Is Shaping Our Relationship With Chicken

Chicken Run, Chicken Little, Chicken Joe. Americans love a feel-good story about chickens. Finally, we’re starting to ask why.

jenny splitter journalist

Sentient Media Podcast: Unlocking Curiosity With Journalist Jenny Splitter

In this episode, award-winning journalist Jenny Splitter shares her experiences reporting on everything from insect farming to optimism and manure.

The UK Must Cut Ties With Mass Slaughter of Dolphins

On September 21, 2021, thousands of dolphins were killed in the Faroe Islands. Former Sea Shepherd crew member Lex Rigby reflects on the tragedy.

Got Milk? How School Lunches Are Making Kids Sick

Two-thirds of the population is lactose intolerant. So why don’t school lunch programs offer plant-based milk? The answer is more complicated than you’d think.

Sentient Media Podcast: The Power of Blindness With Kathy Stevens

Catskill Animal Sanctuary co-founder Kathy Stevens and author of “Where the Blind Horse Sings” explains why animal sanctuaries have the power to change lives.

Cow and calf at SAFE sanctuary

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.

What Would Happen if the U.S. Banned Factory Farming?

Meat, dairy, and eggs are woven into the fabric of American life and have been for as long as most will remember. But that, too, can change.

What Animal Sanctuaries Can Teach Us About Creating Sanctuary for Each Other

Human-animal co-existence models an approach to care and empathy that could help guide us toward a more resilient future.

calf in a green land

New Documentary Transforms Cows From Methane Machines to Sentient Beings

In Cow, a documentary filmed over four years on a British dairy farm, director Andrea Arnold explores what it means for Luma, a farmed animal, to be truly seen.

We Need to End Octopus Farming Before It Starts

Wild octopus populations are declining due to overfishing. But instead of addressing the problem, companies are spending millions on octopus farms.

Why It’s So Hard to Prevent Disease Outbreaks on Factory Farms

It’s almost impossible to keep a factory farm free of disease. Culling doesn’t always work. Antibiotics have their own host of problems, and vaccines do too.

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.

national cancer institute samples

Sentient Media Podcast: Dr. Aysha Akhtar on the End of Animal Testing

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Akhtar about her work building a world where animal testing is no longer the default.

woman hugging dog in a garden

Interview: The Future of Pet Food With Ryan Bethencourt

Sentient Media recently sat down with Ryan Bethencourt, CEO of Wild Earth, to talk about how his company is shaking up the pet food industry.

Animal Agriculture Was Critically Ignored at COP26—But Why?

At COP26, writer Alex Lockwood said one thing was abundantly clear: Animal agriculture is still too taboo to talk about critically at climate negotiations.

Why Serving Meat at a Climate Conference Is a Problem

Reducing meat consumption should be at the top of every world leader’s climate agenda—but it’s not. And the more we ignore the problem, the larger it grows.

What Happens When Eating Less Meat Becomes Politically Popular

Many of the promises made at COP26—like the pledge to end deforestation—won’t be possible until we all start eating less meat.

How the ‘Eat Local’ Food Myth Led to COP26’s Menu Failure

COP26 chose to serve attendees some of the world’s most climate-damaging foods. A closer look at the menu reveals why.

In the Global Methane Pledge, Agriculture Should Be Front and Center

Animal agriculture is one of the leading sources of methane emissions, but world leaders have a bad habit of downplaying its impact or ignoring it entirely.

We Asked Gov. Newsom to Stop Expanding Factory Farms. He Didn’t Listen.

Activists arrived outside the home of California Governor Gavin Newsom with a simple ask: halt the expansion of factory farms. His response may surprise you.

Protester holding a banner with a message 'Less meat, less heat'

8 Incredibly Obvious Climate Solutions Governments Often Ignore

In advance of COP26, we compiled a list of climate actions that governments around the world can take to protect the planet from the disastrous impacts of animal agriculture.

monkey in the trees

Animals Could Play a Pivotal Role in Climate Talks—if We Let Them

Climate change impacts every species on the planet. Why are humans the only ones drafting a response?

cow from behind

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.

Farmed Animals Lack Legal Protections. What Needs to Change?

The legal system hasn’t simply failed farmed animals—it has actively and methodically facilitated their exploitation. Here’s what needs to change.

A Shortage of Butchers Is the Least of the Pork Industry’s Problems

A shortage of butchers in the UK has left slaughterhouses operating at decreased capacity, forcing many farmers to kill their pigs themselves.

Sentient Media Podcast: Christopher “Soul” Eubanks on TikTok, Social Justice, and New Narratives in Animal Advocacy

From TikTok to racism in animal advocacy, this episode of the Sentient Media Podcast explores the need for a new approach to end oppression for all.

Young cows at a dairy farm.

Potty Training Cows Isn’t Going to Fix the Climate Crisis

Potty training cows to curb emissions seems like a harmless idea, but it’s no silver bullet. In fact, it does more to distract from the problem than solve it.

Cheryl Leahy sitting in front of plant

Sentient Media Podcast: Cheryl Leahy Exposes the Truth About Pet Food, “Crush Videos,” and the Powerlessness of the Law

We sat down with Cheryl Leahy, Executive Director of Animal Outlook, to talk about the pet food industry, “crush videos,” and a new investigation.

dog between legs

Designer Dogs: Cute or Cruel?

We claim to love our furry friends, yet we manipulate their bodies to meet our criteria of what is “cute” or desirable, often at great cost to their health and well-being.

cat and woman lying face to face

Why We Love Some Animals and Eat Others

Animals are a big part of our everyday lives. Join us as we explore the uncomfortable question: Why do we love some animals and harm others?

Mockup of cows around a tree in a sphere of grass

Connecting the Dots Between Climate Change and Animal Agriculture

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we need to change the way we eat. Councilman Justin Brannan has a message for the people of New York City: “Let’s get it done.”

Countries Take Steps to Ban Fur Farming After COVID-19 Outbreaks

Massive outbreaks of COVID-19 led to the permanent closure of fur farms in the Netherlands, Poland, and France, but the U.S. has yet to take action.

lonely whale

Saving the Planet While Ignoring Two-Thirds of It

While most of the climate crisis attention is focused on land, many of the best fixes lie in the oceans. Perhaps it’s time to think of the oceans in a radically new way: as part of the solution.

Big Ag’s Biogas Boondoggle

The last thing we needed was Big Oil and Big Ag on the same team. Now, they’ve joined forces in a dangerous attempt to greenwash the factory farming industry.

Reducing Meat Consumption Would Free Up More Land for Climate Solutions

The message of the climate movement is clear: stop fossil fuel extraction and move to renewable energies. This is a great message, and a good start, but it’s not enough.

What’s Wrong With Veganism?

In a world where nearly 7 billion people choose to eat meat and other animal products, the decision to go vegan solves very little. What comes next makes all the difference.

chef aj

Sentient Media Podcast: Chef AJ and the Future of Food and Plant-Based Cooking

In this episode of the Sentient Media Podcast, we meet whole food plant-based Chef AJ to hear her thoughts on cultivated meat and the future of food.

A transmasculine person sitting in a park and smiling

People of the Global Majority Are an Integral Part of the Vegan Movement

Not only is increasing the movement’s diversity a moral imperative, it’s the best way to ensure that the movement maintains relevancy in an increasingly diverse world.

A cow in a dairy barn.

More Slaughterhouses Is Not the Solution

Small, family-run abattoirs have been described as ‘cornerstones’ of sustainable meat production but a new investigation from the UK nonprofit Animal Justice Project paints a different picture.

Close up of a calf sequestered in a stall at a dairy farm in Chile.

Why USDA Should Adopt Stronger Legal Protections for Farmed Animals

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced that USDA will begin a new process to address farmed animal welfare standards. It’s long overdue.

A broiler chicken laying down inside a factory farm in Italy

Major Welfare Certifier’s New Study Was Designed to Deceive

The study represents yet another attempt by Global Animal Partnership, one of the nation’s largest animal welfare certifications, to pass off poor welfare conditions as the gold standard.

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.

girl looking through a window

The Climate Crisis Is Worse Than You Can Imagine. Here’s What Happens If You Try.

A climate scientist spent years trying to get people to pay attention to the disaster ahead. But his frantic effort to reduce his carbon footprint left his family exhausted and searching for answers.

A chicken barn.

The New Push to Greenwash Factory Farming

Factory farming is trying to clean up its act by turning methane emissions into biogas. But the promise of sustainability could be doing more harm than good.