The Month in a Minute: August 2024

This month a report on the global power of Big Agriculture’s lobbying finds that U.S. agribusiness interests spend more on lobbying than the defense and oil industries do. Meanwhile in Florida, cultivated meat producer Upside Foods sued the state over their lab grown meat ban. Plus, sea lions with cameras attached are being used to map the ocean floor. And Japan harpoons its first fin-whale in half a century just as the NOAA announces over $9 million for partnerships to recover North Atlantic right whales.

Plus:

The anonymous artist Banksy reveals a series of wildlife paintings over London, culminating in a mural of a gorilla at London Zoo helping other animals to escape.

Plus, how a community gardener grew food for her family, quit her job at McDonald’s and started a farm.

Australian cattle ranches are at the heart of deforestation in the country — now the beef industry is seeking to redefine what deforestation means.

Here are more headlines that caught our attention this month:

Agriculture

Kipster is the first U.S. egg producer to commit to ending chick culling.

The Antlers Ranch near Meeteetse has been in the same family since 1895, but now is for sale. The legacy ranch is an example of Wyoming ranchers and farmers leaving agriculture because they’re “tired of just surviving.”

Experts criticize the FAO for not recommending a reduction in the livestock industry in its new report draft, despite the importance of cutting methane emissions to combat global warming.

Over the last decade, it seemed possible for animal welfare advocates to dream that the U.S. might be on the cusp of a meat-free revolution. Here’s what happened and what might come next.

Climate

After almost a decade of reintroduction efforts, an endangered species of toad is naturally reproducing in the wilds of Colorado.

The non-profit Accountability Board successfully lobbied the corporate boards for two restaurant chains to set targets for greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

Due largely to lagging efforts to curb factory farm and other pollution in the Midwest, the low-oxygen area of the Gulf of Mexico is larger than expected this year, prompting fish and shrimp to flee nearly 4 million acres of habitat and killing off bottom-dwelling species.

Redistributing food before it’s tossed or wasted doesn’t just fight hunger — it also fights climate change.

Health

Dairy farmers worried about the economic implications of a positive bird flu result have become resistant to testing. That hesitancy is translating into inaccurately low national bird flu counts.

Photojournalist Selene Magnolia Gatti has been documenting the effects of living alongside intensive agriculture on human health and wellbeing.

The neglected environmental and health benefits of fighting Big Meat — for humans.

A new study on the epigenetic impact of vegan vs. omnivorous diets on aging finds the vegan cohort exhibited significant decreases in overall epigenetic age acceleration.

Meat consumption is linked to type-2 diabetes risk, with a meta-analysis of almost 2 million adults across 20 countries.

Law & Justice

The Michigan Supreme Court handed down a decision that state environmental regulators have the power to require factory farms better manage their waste.

A recent investigation finds the FBI considering ‘weapons of mass destruction statutes’ against activists.

High-level policy discussions have built momentum for “food system transformation” that would help farmers address the climate crisis.

The USDA is investigating Tyson Foods’ recent closure of nine meat processing plants across the country.

Future of Food

Though there is no moratorium, fishing the mesopelagic layer remains mostly out of bounds.

The plant-based dining trend has waned, but flexitarians are still looking to eat less meat.

Consumers care about animal welfare and climate pollution, scientists find, but also dairy farmers’ livelihoods — a major hurdle for dairy-free cheese.

From Sentient

Plant-based companies should follow the electric vehicle handbook, a new report says, by utilizing subsidies, climate targets and adopting a strategy of open innovation.

How food is politicized in Italian culture, one known for its cuisine.

Veganized scent lures and camera traps are two tools scientists can use to minimize human impact on wildlife.