Too few farmers are transitioning to agricultural practices that are better for biodiversity, soil health and the climate, and “cognitive lock-ins” are to blame, says a new study. But there are ways to overcome these lock-ins, and they could also help farmers transition from livestock to plant agriculture, writes Claire Hamlett.

ANALYSIS: According to researchers, attempting to convince people not to eat meat too judgmentally could be counterproductive because they actually ‘care too much’ about animals, forcing them to use various methods to escape the uncomfortable truth. Can knowing this make us better activists?

People who love eating animals frequently say things like ‘but bacon is delicious’ when confronted with evidence of the cruelty of intensive animal farming or of the intelligence of animals, to make them morally uncomfortable. A new study has found that they may engage in similar “motivated skepticism [sic]” to willfully ignore the pandemic risks of factory farming and meat consumption.

Last week, news emerged of a pig who after escaping during the journey to the slaughterhouse is now to be allowed to live out his natural life with his original ‘owners’. We take a look at the story in more depth and what it reveals about our conflicting attitudes towards non-humans.

Let’s be clear from the start: gender is the largest determinant—beyond race, class, geography, or any other attribute—in how much humans harm animals. ‘Being a man’ is associated with eating ‘meat’—and it’s the single most critical social issue that animal advocates need to face if we are to end the exploitation of our fellow beings. Dr Alex Lockwood, writes.

Can an infamous example of animal abuse posted to YouTube illustrate the ethical disconnect that arises when our morality fails to tally with our actions? Alex J. O’Connor, AKA Cosmic Skeptic, writes.

Personal accounts from the Surge team of how their perception of the world changed after going vegan.

Jackie Norman spent 18 years working in an industry that she says causes suffering to both humans and the innocent, sentient beings with whom we share this world.