Perspective

Perspective

Factory Farming Depends on Scarce Medical Supplies

With the availability of medical masks in such short supply, respirators should be sold only to truly “essential” industries—which excludes factory farming.

Health•7 min read

Perspective

Elephant Poaching Is a Humanitarian Crisis, Too

Most conservation efforts fail to address poverty as a primary cause of the poaching crisis. Poachers can make more money from one kill than most sub-Saharan Africans earn in an…

Climate•9 min read

Perspective

Birth and Motherhood in a Slaughterhouse: Charlotte’s Story

Pregnant animals sent to slaughter, and their young, usually die anonymously. Only a miraculous few are rescued and brought to sanctuaries where humans can learn their stories.

Policy•5 min read

Perspective

Has Earth’s Most Trafficked Mammal Stopped the World?

Pangolins are the most trafficked mammal on earth, sold for their meat and scales in wildlife markets around the world. The quirky, anteater-like animal is now at the center of…

Health•10 min read

Perspective

Profit Over People: The Meat Industry’s Exploitation of Vulnerable Workers

Slaughterhouses have always been viewed negatively because of what happens to animals behind their walls. But how workers are treated is also despicable.

Policy•7 min read

Perspective

Why Is Palm Oil Such a Problem Now?

Palm oil has revolutionized the way we produce a variety of foods and cosmetics. But most people are unaware of how destructive this "magical ingredient" is to the natural environment.

Climate•10 min read

Perspective

The Psychology of Blaming Others During the Time of COVID-19

Humans are emotionally invested in ensuring that, whatever happens, the spotlight of blame never shines directly on us. So we blame wet markets in Asia for the spread of COVID-19…

Culture•5 min read

Perspective

How to Prevent Future Pandemics: Fix the Broken Food System

There is a common link between many past pandemics and the one we are facing today: the human consumption of animals. Can we change the current food system without changing…

Farms•6 min read

Perspective

Why the Climate Movement Is Failing Us: From A Black Woman Who Doesn’t Trust Science

Jasmine Leyva, director of The Invisible Vegan, unpacks the complicated relationship between people of color and the climate movement.

Culture•6 min read

Perspective

How the Environment Has Changed Since the First Earth Day 50 Years Ago

These charts show that while progress has been made in some areas, humanity still has a major impact on the planet.

Climate•5 min read

Perspective

Sanctuary Farms Offer a Model for Future Food System

A handful of farms across North America are blurring ethical lines by incorporating rescued farm animals into plant production. Is this the solution to our broken food system, or part…

Policy•5 min read

Perspective

Q&A: Plant-Based Pioneer David Yeung on the Future Frontier of Sustainable Foods

Reducing meat and dairy consumption is the most impactful action consumers can take to reduce their carbon footprint. No one has championed this message more than David Yeung.

Climate•11 min read

Perspective

Coronavirus Pandemic Revitalizing Dispute Over Spanish Bullfighting

Public support for the bullfighting industry has been dwindling for years. The coronavirus pandemic is creating a novel opportunity for Spain to abolish the "sport" once and for all.

Culture•9 min read

Perspective

To Reduce the Risk of Pandemics, We Must Ban Factory Farms Now

Regulating the factory farming industry is not enough to minimize its risks. A total ban is necessary because it expresses that factory farming is deeply harmful to humans, animals, and…

Health•5 min read

Perspective

The Best Defense Against the Next Pandemic: Your Fork

As long as humans insist on abusing and exploiting animals on factory farms, stronger and deadlier pathogens than the novel coronavirus will emerge from the global food system.

Health•4 min read

Perspective

Closed Borders and Quarantine Measures Pose Direct Threat to Transport Animal Welfare

In a push to keep slaughter lines running during the pandemic, the industry's hunt for profits is putting animal welfare and public health at risk.

Factory Farms•6 min read

Perspective

Mass Killing of Lab Animals During Pandemic Calls into Question Necessity and Cost of Animal Models

When researchers needed fast results for a possible COVID-19 vaccine, they skipped over testing the new drug on animals first. If the tests were "extraneous," why experiment on animals to…

Research•5 min read

Perspective

We Need To Evolve: The Gastro-Cultural & Ethnomedical Traditions That Got Us Here

As distinct as they are in place and time, zoonotic disease outbreaks all have one thing in common. They point to the prevailing gastro-cultural practices that welcome eating animals at…

Culture•14 min read

Perspective

We Kill More Animals Than Australia’s Fires Every Day

Many more farmed animals die every day than were killed by the Amazon and Australia wildfires—farmed animals also suffer more, and are linked to more habitat loss globally.

Climate•4 min read

Perspective

Other Animals Are Not Humans’ Sacrificial Fall Guys

Using lab animals to solve human-made problems amounts to more of the same hubris that spawned the COVID-19 pandemic in the first place.

Research•3 min read

Perspective

COVID-19: The Origin Story

With much of the world on lockdown tracking the death toll and flight cancellations, no one is questioning why we are in the midst of the worst global pandemic in…

Health•3 min read

Perspective

A Palate for Pestilence: Ominous Links Between COVID-19 and Industrial Animal Farming

The Chinese government announced it would permanently ban the wildlife trade suspected to be at the center of the COVID-19 pandemic. Will factory farms be next?

Health•9 min read

Perspective

Coronavirus Should Make You Reconsider Eating Meat

The primary cause of zoonotic diseases like coronavirus is not the consumption of wildlife—it’s the consumption of animals, period.

Health•3 min read

Perspective

Farming for the Planet

Feeding the rapidly growing human population, expected to exceed 10 billion people by 2050, hinges on the ability of individual farmers to adopt more sustainable plant-based foods.

Climate•12 min read

Perspective

New U.K. Legislation Makes Compassion for Animals a Crime

The legislation fails to address the nuanced issues related to grey squirrels and other invasive species. Instead, it adheres to a simple narrative: native good, invasive bad.

Factory Farms•5 min read

Perspective

2020 Vision on Animal Cruelty

When Congress passed the PACT Act in November, President Trump led Americans to believe that all animal cruelty is now illegal. But the new protections are riddled with loopholes.

Factory Farms•8 min read

Perspective

Condemning Indigenous Hunting Practices: Are We Throwing Stones from Glass Houses?

In Australia, indigenous hunters are using questionable methods to catch sea turtles and other wild animals. Cruel as some of these practices are, non-indigenous farming practices are equally inhumane.

Farms•4 min read

Perspective

Louie’s Story: Why Monkeys Should Never Be “Pets”

Many humans assume that sharing a home with a cute baby monkey will be endlessly fun. But in practice, owning an exotic animal proves detrimental for both the "pet" and…

Policy•4 min read

Perspective

In Court, “Sustainable” Brands Argue that Marketing Claims are Meaningless

For 42 years, Ben & Jerry’s claimed its ice cream came from “happy cows." But when the claim was challenged in court, the company backpedaled, exposing an industry rife with…

Food•4 min read

Perspective

Stop Treating Violence Against Animals as a Game

Gamifying violence does more than disrespect victims. It conditions perpetrators—and the public—to see victims as unworthy of respect and compassion.

Culture•5 min read

Perspective

In Response to Harriet Hall: The White Savior Is You, Not Joaquin Phoenix

After his rousing Oscar acceptance speech on Monday, Phoenix received sharp criticism from Harriet Hall for his expansive view of justice for all animals—revealing her own narrow lens.

Culture•6 min read

Perspective

Stop Treating Animals as “Invaders” for Simply Trying to Exist

Wild animals around the world are being removed from human communities and killed en masse. What are the animals doing to deserve this punishment?

Factory Farms•6 min read

Perspective

Voters For Animal Rights: Creating a More Compassionate New York

Voters For Animal Rights is an animal protection group lobbying for ending animal cruelty, and holding elected officials accountable in the State and City of New York. We spoke with…

Factory Farms•9 min read

Perspective

Good Food Institute: Interview with Bruce Friedrich

Bruce Friedrich, Executive Director and Co-Founder of The Good Food Institute, discusses the organization's mission to transform the world's food system.

Farms•7 min read

Perspective

Chickens or Pigs: Would You Pick One to Suffer More?

In this guest post, United Poultry Concerns president and founder Karen Davis critiques an earlier editorial by Mikko Jarvenpaa and warns of the dangers of ranking animals by false measures…

Science•12 min read

Perspective

Hypocrisy on the Highway: Where Are Those Animal Transport Trucks Heading and Why Don’t We Talk About It?

Most people consider themselves animal lovers and take any opportunity to admire them, including as they pass by in transport trucks on the highway. Not many people, though, question where…

Food•8 min read

Perspective

Ag-Gag Laws Keep Animal Farming in the Dark and Diminish Public Trust

Who or what are ag-gag laws truly serving? Not the animals being exploited and killed behind closed doors, and not the public being kept in the dark, only growing more…

Factory Farms•4 min read

Perspective

British Animal Charities Are Missing in Action This General Election

Animal welfare matters to the U.K. public. But for the first time in more than 40 years, animal advocate and researcher Kim Stallwood says Britain’s top charities are letting the…

Elections•4 min read

Perspective

Do Calls For Animal Rights Interfere With Religious Freedoms?

Animals play a role in religious ceremonies, meals, and sacrifices. Activists pursuing change to these roles face challenges regarding religious freedoms.

Culture•5 min read

Perspective

The Plight of Canadian Sled Dogs

At the heart of the Canadian Rockies, hundreds of sled dogs – naturally energetic and free-spirited animals – spend their days tethered to a six-foot chain.

Culture•3 min read

Perspective

The Animal Rights Revolution: Coming to a Grocery Near You

Most people are opposed to animal suffering, and yet they condone the suffering of trillions by choosing to eat animal products. That's why activists are taking the fight for animal…

Culture•4 min read

Perspective

We Now Know Fish Feel Pain. Why Continue Harming Them In The Billions?

The science is clear: fish can feel pain and want to avoid it. Can we continue to ignore the facts in the face of killing as many as one trillion…

Food•4 min read

Perspective

Plant-Based Eating: Slowly But Surely Becoming Mainstream

Patrick Hukins was served non-vegan ham at an Australia-based Domino’s, raising the question of what challenges lie ahead for vegans as the world is slowly changing to accommodate the lifestyle.

Farms•4 min read

Perspective

Resilient Love: Pound Puppies and Their Strength to Overcome

If you have ever walked through your local animal shelter, you have seen the devastation animals are facing every day. But despite where they come from, these animals open their…

Policy•5 min read

Perspective

Why the UK Should Adopt a Plant-Based Food System

With the country on track to miss its 2050 climate change targets, the agricultural sector will play a vital role in reaching carbon zero.

Climate•5 min read

Perspective

Police Dogs: A Necessity or a Disservice?

Dogs and humans alike, all animals play an important role in the world. Is using service dogs justified when their lives are being put in danger?

Factory Farms•6 min read

Perspective

California Just Became the First U.S. State to Ban Fur Products. Who Will Follow?

The effect activists are having on legislative change involving animal rights and welfare is becoming rapid. Two ground-breaking bans were signed into law this past weekend in the State of…

Factory Farms•5 min read

Perspective

Australia’s Landscapes of Fear

Peter Hylands reports from Australia, where the killing of kangaroos is commonplace and the population estimates and hunting permits just don't seem to match.

Climate•6 min read

Perspective

A Climate Change: An Unstoppable Movement Takes Hold

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres calls for the climate movement to grow in this exclusive op-ed for the Covering Climate Now media partners.

Climate•4 min read

Perspective

How We Introduce Animals to Children: A Story of Hypocrisy

How can we raise compassionate children if we teach them it's okay to mistreat animals as long as it's someone else doing it?

Culture•6 min read