Plants make methane too, but farmers who say this are missing the point entirely
WEEKEND READ: Surge co-director Ed Winters recently debated the director of NFU Scotland on STV on the negative impacts of animal agriculture. Aside from Kennedy’s bare-faced lies about welfare, he made a curious claim that trees make methane too. Is this the ‘gotcha’ against rewilding he hoped it would be?
Cow methane masks given £50,000 award by Prince Charles and ex-Apple design chief
NEWS: First VR slaughterhouse robots, now methane masks to capture cow burps receive funding from the Prince of Wales. It’s yet another bizarre day in the weird world of meat industry technology.
'Is the future of sustainable farming animal-free?' - Viva! Farming panel debates veganic alternatives
DEBATE: With Earth Day coming up this week, Claire Hamlett reports on the first panel discussion held by Viva! Farming in which the future of sustainable farming - animal-free or not? - was discussed. Panellists included veganic farmer Iain Tolhurst, animal welfare expert Professor Andrew Knight and ProVeg Vice President Jasmijn de Boo.
Threat of post-Brexit trade with Australia reveals the cultural crisis at the heart of farming
This Friday, May 28th, a new touring installation will launch in Cardiff to get the UK talking about eating meat and its impacts on health and the environment. A new exhibition on the same issue will launch simultaneously at Oxford University’s Museum of Natural History.
Why feeding cows seaweed to stop them farting as much won’t solve the environmental problem, let alone the ethical one
The news last week that scientists have found that adding seaweed to the diets of cows reduces methane emissions will no doubt be welcomed by the industry, but it’s just one part of a very big puzzle.
'The NFU's Net Zero goal is misleading, flawed and unimplementable', writes Dr Alex Lockwood
In September 2019 the National Farmers’ Union published their Achieving Net Zero: Farming’s 2040 Goal that laid out its plans for making UK farming ‘carbon neutral’, but is it achievable and what would it mean for non-human animals? Dr Alex Lockwood writes.
Who would want to be a farmer? The burden on mental health
We recently discussed the impact of the violence of slaughterhouse employment on kill floor workers, but what about farmers? Should we feel sympathy for the pressures they face? Jackie Norman, a former cow and dairy farmer turned vegan writer, discusses this difficult topic.
Animals who feel no pain? 'Gene editing' could become a reality post-Brexit
Cows without horns and pigs without testicles could just be the start of what scientists could be permitted to create, should regulations concerning gene editing be relaxed following a Defra consultation currently underway. We unravel the science, the ideas coming from other parts of the world, and of course the ethical and moral implications.