Perspective

Perspective

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.

Policy•5 min read

Perspective

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.

Animal Testing•5 min read

Perspective

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…

Climate•22 min read

Perspective

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.

Climate•7 min read

Perspective

Not All Food Waste Is Created Equal

Wasted food is a serious problem, especially in America where landfills are overflowing with rotting food. Among that waste, especially on the consumer front? Animals.

Food•7 min read

Perspective

This New Bill Could Phase Out Animal Testing for Good

The Humane Research and Testing Act of 2021 address the growing need to replace animals in research. The bill also calls for the acceptance of "valid and reliable" alternative testing…

Animal Testing•4 min read

Perspective

Book Review: Bear Boy by Justin Barker

Justin Barker’s autobiographical coming-of-age story follows his fight to save two bears from a dismal existence at a zoo in Roseville, California.

Entertainment•3 min read

Perspective

Why Hack the World’s Largest Meat Company?

A group of hackers temporarily shut down operations at JBS, the world's largest meat company, disrupting the U.S. beef supply and leaving us with more questions than answers.

Policy•3 min read

Perspective

Is Ethically Produced Dairy Even Possible?

At the UK's only slaughter-free dairy farm, calves are allowed to be with their mothers, and spent cows roam around in peace. Sound too good to be true? We took…

Food•5 min read

Perspective

Meet Justin Barker: Activist and Author of the New Book Bear Boy

In this exclusive interview, Justin Barker talks about what led him to publish his first book: the years of advocacy, personal awakenings, learning, teaching, and deep-seated passion for animal rights.

Entertainment•7 min read

Perspective

The UK Animal Sentience Bill Is Good, But Animals Deserve Better

The new animal sentience bill could make progress for animals on several fronts. But the bill is vague in key respects, protecting some animals while leaving out others.

Law & Justice•7 min read

Perspective

Defending the Indefensible: Pig Industry Veterinarian Speaks Out

Each time footage is released from pig farms, the industry manages to brush it off as an "isolated incident." But Dr. Alice Brough says these incidents are standard practice.

Policy•7 min read

Perspective

The Tale of Two Lab Kittens: The One We Saved, the One We Didn’t, and Why It’s Historic

The U.S government is spending millions of taxpayer dollars on wasteful cat experiments. When will we close this shameful chapter of American history? White Coat Waste Project investigates.

Animal Testing•4 min read

Perspective

We Should All Be Worried About the United Nations Food Systems Summit

A battle for the future of food is underway. The UN is facing heavy criticism over its corporate ties and lack of inclusivity ahead of the Food Systems Summit later…

Food•11 min read

Perspective

Is Speciesism a Social Justice Issue?

Speciesism is more than just an animal rights issue. The Deputy Leader of the UK's Animal Welfare Party, Jane Smith, explains why our understanding of social justice must evolve to…

Policy•5 min read

Perspective

Why California Cities Should Divest from Factory Farms

Berkeley recently became the first city in California to urge the state's $444-billion pension fund to divest from the factory farming industry. Will San Francisco and Los Angeles follow suit?

Food•4 min read

Perspective

The Food System on Mars: Humanity’s Do-Over?

Mars gives us a chance to start over and leave many of Earth's worst practices behind. While it sounds far-fetched, life on the red planet will almost certainly be free…

Food•5 min read

Perspective

Decolonizing Sustainability: Food Sovereignty, Animal Liberation, and Land Justice

Sustainability is a conflicted term. Instead of asking how we can make the food system more sustainable, we should be asking, sustainable for whom?

Climate•7 min read

Perspective

Seaspiracy Co-Star Jonathan Balcombe Gives His Take on the Film

Jonathan Balcombe, Ph.D., author of What a Fish Knows and Super Fly and co-star of the controversial new Netflix documentary, Seaspiracy, shares his thoughts on the film.

Climate•1 min read

Perspective

Growing Human Cells in Monkey Embryos Is Problematic—But Not for the Reasons People Think

The main problem lies in the similarities with conventional animal use: Humans are once again planning to create sentient beings so that we can exploit them for our own benefit.

Animal Testing•4 min read

Perspective

White Veganism Doesn’t Serve Me Either: A White Vegan’s Perspective

From academia to animal advocacy, white supremacy culture permeates liberal spaces. It’s time to turn reflection into action.

Encompass•12 min read

Perspective

Next in Line: The Emotional Trauma We Inflict on Farmed Animals

Award-winning investigative photographer Amy Jones discusses her role in bridging the divide between humans and the emotional violence we inflict on farmed animals.

Policy•5 min read

Perspective

Turns Out Humans Aren’t So Great After All

The pandemic and ongoing climate crisis have shown us that humans are no better for the survival of the planet than any other species. In many ways, they're worse.

Climate•7 min read

Perspective

The Food System of Tomorrow: A Call to Action

If we want to build a healthier, greener, kinder, more sustainable future that gets us closer to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, we must follow a new path.

Food•12 min read

Perspective

How Philanthropy in Farmed Animal Advocacy Reinforces White Bubbles

Most funders and leaders in the farmed animal advocacy movement are white. That needs to change.

Encompass•6 min read

Perspective

Seaspiracy: What the Fishing Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know

Before audiences had gotten a chance to see the new documentary, the fishing industry was already dismissing it as “vegan propaganda.” Remind us again who the propagandists are?

Climate•6 min read

Perspective

Leave Fish in the Sea—and Farm Shellfish Instead?

Fish farming was supposed to be the industry's saving grace, but instead of taking pressure off wild populations, it just caused more destruction. Would farming shellfish be more sustainable?

Aquaculture•6 min read

Perspective

The High Cost of Consuming Animals

Worldwide, roughly 70 billion animals are raised and slaughtered each year within the food system. Producing so many animals comes with a high price for us, for animals, and for…

Climate•11 min read

Perspective

Why Do We Eat Animals?

While there are plenty of reasons not to eat animals, positive arguments for eating animals are, it seems, hard to come by. Is it taste, convenience, or ignorance that compels…

Diet•18 min read

Perspective

Want to Protect Workers, Animals, and the Planet? Ban the Sale of Meat

Big Meat—like Big Oil, Big Tobacco, and Big Pharma—is a ravenous machine of exploitation pursuing profits at almost any cost. It needs to be stopped.

Policy•5 min read

Perspective

Saving Animals, One Law at a Time

Lobbyists and legislators can only do so much. Public support is what pushes for bills to become laws—and right now, support for animals is soaring.

Law & Justice•7 min read

Perspective

Chinese Eyes: Exploring Identity and White Supremacy in Animal Rights

It’s taken me years, but I’m beginning to understand how a white supremacy culture has shaped my life and my advocacy, and how to change this narrative.

Encompass•17 min read

Perspective

The Challenges of Reporting at Sea

We spoke with Pulitzer Prize winner Ian Urbina and investigators Lex Rigby and Pete Paxton about their experience documenting the commercial fishing industry.

Climate•2 min read

Perspective

Fashion Gets Far Less Focus From Animal Activists—That Needs to Change

Just as we all eat, we all get dressed, every single day. That's why fashion needs to be included more seriously in the scope of animal activism.

Policy•5 min read

Perspective

Animals Are More Sentient Than You Think

Commercial and cultural forces constantly work to deny the quality of sentience to non-human animals. Even when science clearly shows most animals are sentient, this denial is mainstream.

Science•7 min read

Perspective

We Need to Protect Marine Life Before It Disappears

Seas and oceans cover 71 percent of the world’s surface and provide diverse habitats for a variety of marine life. Protecting them is essential for the future of life on…

Climate•15 min read

Perspective

Sentient Media Podcast: Damien Mander on His Journey From Soldier to Animal Activist

We caught up with Damien Mander, founder of the International Anti-Poaching Foundation, to talk about how reliance on the meat industry is hindering our ability to protect wild places.

Podcast•23 min read

Perspective

Why Factory Farming’s Pandemic Risk Is Being Ignored

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

As a Black Man, I Felt Uncomfortable Becoming an Animal Activist

Animal liberation won’t happen until Black, Brown, and Indigenous people have equity in the animal protection movement.

Encompass•9 min read

Perspective

How the Pandemic Is Changing Our Relationship with Nature

COVID-19 has revealed the deep interconnectedness of our planet, where an outbreak in China can lead to curfews in California.

Health•7 min read

Perspective

What I Witnessed Investigating Factory Farms During the Pandemic

Even when animal protections are strong, millions of sentient beings suffer. Clément Martz takes us to the heart of the problem, exposing conditions at "high welfare" facilities during COVID-19.

Food•6 min read

Perspective

Sentient Media Podcast: Jian Yi, Founder of the Good Food Fund

Sentient Media sat down with Jian Yi, founder of the Good Food Fund, a Chinese food sustainability and health NGO that promotes a plant-based diet.

Food•30 min read

Perspective

“I Remember Their Eyelashes”: Why I Chose to Stop Consuming Dairy

The ditch dairy argument can be a tough pill to swallow. This is not meant to shame anyone, simply to share my story of why I chose to stop consuming…

Food•9 min read

Perspective

Racism in Me, the Movement, and the Meat Industry

Seeing racism in myself was the first step to confronting it in the animal advocacy movement—and in the system we’re working to change.

Encompass•15 min read

Perspective

Cultivated Meat Could Radically Transform Animal Agriculture: Interview With Investor and Author Jim Mellon

Jim Mellon's new book, Moo's Law, helps readers understand the quickly evolving investment landscape in cultivated and plant-based proteins.

Science•1 min read

Perspective

Human or Animal? Why We Need to Change the Conversation Altogether

When someone is dehumanized or "treated like an animal," they become easier to oppress. Meatpacking workers know this better than most.

Policy•4 min read

Perspective

Why This Undercover Investigator Is Helping Others Expose Animal Abuse

Prior to going undercover on factory farms, Erin Wing had witnessed and experienced all kinds of violence. It was one of the reasons she knew she would be well-suited for…

Policy•4 min read

Perspective

Why Aren’t More Veterinarians Vegan?

If the profession continues to turn a blind eye to the suffering of factory-farmed animals, "the public will wonder if they can trust veterinarians anymore."

Policy•11 min read

Perspective

The Unwritten Rule of Animal Rescue: Don’t Call the Cops

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

Perspective

Another Failed Attempt to Greenwash Beef

Follow along as climate researchers debunk another industry-backed study bragging about the perceived benefits of regenerative agriculture.

Climate•29 min read