Happy new year!
Wishing all a healthy and compassionate 2017
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In this edition...
Video of the Month |
 Turkey rescue 2016 - Tracey and Ellie |
Top Stories |
| Unthinkable today, obvious tomorrow: The moral case for the abolition of cruelty to animals |
| 'Vegan' most googled dietary term in Australia |
| Video: Meet the Kiwi woman making meat without an animal in sight |
| More men are going animal-free |
| Is soy milk really 'milk'? |
Health and Environment |
| Experts share tips for transitioning to a plant-based diet |
| Aggressive bird flu prompts duck culls in Europe |
| Why so many teenagers are going vegan |
| Orangutans could be completely extinct in 10 years because of our snacks |
Signs of the Times |
| Condé Nast names faux meat top trend for 2017 |
| New Zealand town builds underpass tunnel for penguins |
| Major U.S. meat producer invests in meatless future |
| Coca-Cola acquires dairy-free companies |
Animal Issues and Advocacy |
| Caring for the animals who work for us |
| Over 100 dogs rescued from Chinese dog meat festival arrive in Canada |
| Massive lobster free after grandfather urged woman to save it |
| The needs of smart and social animals cannot be met in captivity |
Books and Perspectives |
| Review: 'Ethics in the Real World,' Peter Singer's provocative essays |
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(Excerpts are included from current news stories. Click on the "Full story" link to read the full article.)
Video of the Month 
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Turkey rescue 2016 - Tracey and Ellie
Video source: Karen Dawn
 For nine years Karen Dawn has been bringing turkeys into her home on Thanksgiving, as a way to get the word out about what adorable, sweet, cuddly animals they are. They came from the slaughter industry but after the holidays will head to Farm Sanctuary's Animal Acres to live happy and peaceful lives as turkey ambassadors.
Watch video... |
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| Top Stories
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Unthinkable today, obvious tomorrow: The moral case for the abolition of cruelty to animals
Full story: National Review, U.S.
You don't really know your fellow man until you've pondered the fact that most people say they love animals, professing admiration and sympathy, and most people eat them. The great masses of creatures in our industrial farms today would be entitled to conclude, if they could do any pondering themselves, that our love is not worth much. Judging by the fruits, it more resembles hatred. They come and go knowing nothing of existence but misery. It's all just pain, courtesy of a world filled with self-described animal lovers. Cruelty to animals, and to farm animals in particular, may not be humanity's worst offense. It has no rival, however, for the title of humanity's worst hypocrisy.
[An in-depth and worthwhile essay by Matthew Scully, a former senior speechwriter to President George W. Bush, and the author of Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy. See also Melanie Joy's talk: Why we love animals, eat pigs and wear cows.]
Read more... |
National Review, U.S. - December 19
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'Vegan' most googled dietary term in Australia
Full story: Daily Mail, Australia
Forget fast or fad diets, the most popular dietary trend among Australians in 2016 is one that's been around for quite some time - veganism. [2016 saw] a surge in popularity in numerous tricky to maintain eating regimens, many of them touted by celebrities - including paleo and gluten-free. But according to Google, it was the vegan diet that was the most searched for in Australia over the past 12 months. [Australians are not the only people interested in cruelty-free diets, as news outlet NY1 said that "vegan food" was the top Google search term among New Yorkers in 2016.]
Read more... |
Daily Mail, Australia - December 29
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Video: Meet the Kiwi woman making meat without an animal in sight
Video source: TVNZ, NZ
New Zealand-based entrepreneur Shama Sukul-Lee recently spoke with TVNZ about her chickenless meat product Sunfed [made from pea protein]. The show hosts called Sunfed "an incredible breakthrough that could change the world," adding that Sukul-Lee's meatless products could slow global warming, restore animal welfare, and promote heart health. They were also very impressed with the taste. Sukul Lee found a plant-based alternative to chickens as they are the most consumed animals in the world and is currently working to develop alternatives to beef, pork, and fish. I.
Watch video... |
More men are going animal-free
Full story: Philly.com, U.S.
Where once the image of the typical vegan was a woman with a fondness for sprouted seeds and swirling hippie skirts, or perhaps a green-juice-swigging supermodel, a wider swath of Americans (read: the male-identified) is embracing the animal-free lifestyle.
Read more... |
Philly.com, U.S. - January 4
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Is soy milk really 'milk'?
Full story: Los Angeles Times Op-Ed
About once a week, I pick up a half gallon of soy milk from the market. I do this of my own free will, fully cognizant of what I'm buying. But 32 members of the [U.S.] House of Representatives worry that consumers like me are confused by the word "milk" on the label; they think we're laboring under the false impression that the carton contains dairy from a cow. There's something else going on here. Whatever lawmakers may say, they're trying to protect the dairy industry, not consumers.
Read more... |
Los Angeles Times Op-Ed - January 4
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| Health and Environment
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Experts share tips for transitioning to a plant-based diet
Full story: Veggie Chick
There's no doubt that embracing a whole foods plant-based diet can be life-changing for your health, but making the transition can be overwhelming or confusing if you've never ventured into this new territory. Here are amazing and honest tips from 26 influential experts in the plant-based world, including health professionals and trusted healthy-minded food bloggers...
Read more... |
Veggie Chick - November 26
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Aggressive bird flu prompts duck culls in Europe
Full story: Care2
An estimated 190,000 ducks have been culled in the Netherlands as health authorities attempt to stop the spread of a highly virulent strain of bird flu throughout northern Europe.
Read more... |
Why so many teenagers are going vegan
Full story: Affinity Magazine
On the surface, it seems like teenagers are ditching animal products because this generation is simply just getting in touch with their compassionate side. But if you look closer, the reason behind it is much deeper. It wasn't until I watched a film called Cowspiracy that I learned about the environmental devastation that took place in order to make the food on my plate.
Read more... |
Affinity Magazine - December 28
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Orangutans could be completely extinct in 10 years because of our snacks
Full story: One Green Planet
The orangutan's greatest threat of survival is habitat loss, and their habitat is being squandered at an alarming, unprecedented rate for petty cheap palm oil and unsustainable logging. Companies are literally burning their home away to make way for plantations to produce these completely replaceable products.
Read more... |
One Green Planet - September 16
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| Signs of the Times
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Condé Nast names faux meat top trend for 2017
Full story: VegNews
Condé Nast Traveler recently revealed its top food trends to look for in 2017. The publication synthesized several reports compiled by data analyst firms to come to the conclusion that plant-based proteins will be a top trend in the new year.
Read more... |
New Zealand town builds underpass tunnel for penguins
Full story: Digital Journal
Oamaru Harbor, in the South Island of New Zealand has built a 25 meter long tunnel to save blue penguins. The Oamaru underpass allows the endangered penguin species, the smallest in the World, to avoid a deadly road during their nightly trek home from the sea.
Read more... |
Major U.S. meat producer invests in meatless future
Full story: Forbes Magazine
As plant-based foods and meatless meats gain ground with consumers for health and environmental reasons, companies like Tyson Foods -- a chicken, beef and pork purveyor whose name is practically synonymous with the word meat -- have had to think about how to remain competitive. It's an existential question, to be sure, but already, one potential solution has emerged: create a venture capital arm aimed at investing in alternative forms of protein and food sustainability.
Read more... |
Forbes Magazine - December 5
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Coca-Cola acquires dairy-free companies
Full story: VegNews
The soda giant has diversified its portfolio with dairy-free holdings to offset falling profits from sugar slump.
Read more... |
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| Animal Issues and Advocacy
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Caring for the animals who work for us
Full story: Globe and Mail
In late October, something unprecedented happened in Sweden. The country's largest union held a seminar about working not with humans but with animals in the health-care and social-services sectors. Kommunal, the union representing municipal workers, brought together researchers, front-line workers, animal advocates and policy makers to think about ways to ensure that the well-being of animals is being recognized and respected.
Read more... |
Globe and Mail - November 21
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Over 100 dogs rescued from Chinese dog meat festival arrive in Canada
Full story: National Post
Rebecca Aldworth, the executive director of Humane Society International Canada, says more than 100 dogs who were destined for a Chinese dog meat festival have landed in Canada to begin new lives.
Read more... |
National Post - December 24
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Massive lobster free after grandfather urged woman to save it
Full story: CBC, Canada
Katie Conklin says she didn't wake up on Tuesday intending to save a giant lobster. The 27-year-old Halifax [Canada] woman says that changed when she was contacted by her grandfather, who is in his late 80s. He had heard about a 23-pound live lobster at a seafood shop, that was estimated to be several decades old. Conklin is a vegan and says her grandfather definitely is not, but they agreed about the lobster's fate. "He doesn't deserve to die in a tank," she said.
Read more... |
The needs of smart and social animals cannot be met in captivity
Full story: Globe and Mail
The recent deaths of Qila and Aurora, two beluga whales exhibited at the Vancouver Aquarium [Canada], have given new urgency to the debate about whether smart, social creatures such as whales should be kept in captivity. Ultimately, whales and dolphins are complex creatures that deserve good lives in the wild. They must be valued as individuals, not simply for their entertainment or education value, and it's time for us to grant these majestic animals the mercy of freedom.
Read more... |
Globe and Mail - December 8
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| Books and Perspectives
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Review: 'Ethics in the Real World,' Peter Singer's provocative essays
Full story: New York Times
In his new book, Ethics in the Real World: 82 Brief Essays on Things That Matter, Peter Singer - born in Australia, he teaches at Princeton University - picks up the topics of animal rights and poverty amelioration and runs quite far with them. But he's written better and more fully about these issues elsewhere; they are not the primary reason to come to this book. Ethics in the Real World comprises short pieces, most of them previously published. This book is interesting because it offers a chance to witness this influential thinker grapple with more offbeat questions. What carries you is the quality of his thought. He is persuasive on so many topics that he makes you wish we could turn the world off, then on again, in an attempt to reset it.
Read more... |
New York Times - December 19
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