A purpose bred beagle at a veterinary school.

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 methods.

Bear Boy book in a counter, photo by Robin Weir

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.

typing fast in a laptop

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.

calf inside a barn

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 a closer look.

Justin Barker With Coffee, photo by Robin Weir

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.

Toronto Cow Save vigil. Canada, 2015.

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.

Young pigs at an industrial farm.

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.

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.

Bill Gates with UN logo behind

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 this year.

calf in plasti cage at dairy farm

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 include animals.

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?

planet mars

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 of animal suffering.

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?

pile of fishing nets

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.

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.

PJ Nyman Animal Place 2 2018.jpg

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.

Chickens being weighed

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.

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.

People gardening with tools

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.

money up close

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.

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?

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?

chicken factory farm

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 our planet.

dog between legs, and pictures

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 us to eat animals?

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.

chick farm

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.

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.

Stormy seas beside the purse seiner (January 2019   Antarctica))

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.

Person holding up clothing

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.

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.

marine life

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 this planet.

damien mander

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.

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.

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.

Bird flying

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.

pig covered in mud in dark barn

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.

yian li

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.

TurkishBorder Turkey JMcArthur

“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 dairy.

person recording pig farm

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.

cultivated meat

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.

Workers processing turkeys

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.

A calf chained to a veal crate throughout the cold winter. Canada, 2014.

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 the job.

Puppy mill, Canada, photo by J. McArthur

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.”

Save movement offering livestock in transit water

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 a new home.

Another Failed Attempt to Greenwash Beef

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

Pigs in transport. Canada, 2014.

This $22-Billion Industry Suffers from a Serious Lack of Oversight

The live animal trade is thriving. Every day, millions of farmed animals are shipped around the world, panic-stricken and disoriented on their way to slaughter.

mcdonalds sign

How the Western Diet Affects Global Food Choices

Foods that are popular in white-dominated, wealthy nations are often considered more desirable by developing countries, but they come with their own costs.

Dog rescued by humans

How Many Animals Does PETA’s Shelter Euthanize Annually—and Why?

U.S. shelters must euthanize millions of animals every year. Why is this done? PETA explains.

future of food

Future of Food: How It’s Changing and Why That’s Important

The future of food is unpredictable, but the prognosis isn’t all bad. People are adaptable, and change isn’t always a bad thing.

Bulls in quarantine. Israel, 2018.

Lab-Grown Meat Isn’t Natural—And Neither Is Factory Farming

Many consumers believe conventional meat products are more natural than their lab-grown counterparts. What is “natural,” however, is not always best.