Explainer
Wet markets can be places of profound animal suffering, out of which arise life-threatening diseases like the novel coronavirus. And they exist all over the world.
Health•13 min read
Explainer
Farmed animals represent an ever-growing number of animals that are raised, exploited, and slaughtered for fashion and food. These are animals who have few rights and zero freedom.
Food•23 min read
Explainer
Human sentience is widely understood and accepted, while the sentience of other species, including farmed animals, is increasingly recognized.
Science•4 min read
Explainer
The latest pandemic COVID-19, is caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. How does it spread, how did it start, and what do you need to know?
Health•21 min read
Explainer
Animal rights and religion overlap in more ways than are currently spoken about or reported on. Here are what the most practiced religions say regarding animals rights.
Health•10 min read
Explainer
CO2 gassing is standard practice among the world’s largest pork producers, but not because it’s more humane, as the industry promises.
Law & Policy•5 min read
Explainer
News anchors broadcast about it, scientists are scrambling for ways to reverse it, and consumers unknowingly contribute to it. What is it? Climate change.
Climate•17 min read
Explainer
Climate scientist Ryan Towell from the Climate Reality Project explains which foods will be harder to produce as a result of climate change - and which foods are making it…
Climate•2 min read
Explainer
Eating less meat and dairy is the single best way to reduce your climate impact. How does your diet stack up?
Climate•6 min read
Explainer
Plastic consumption is on the rise, but so are the innovative ways to ditch it. This guide will help you to reduce single-use plastic and set you up for plastic-free…
Climate•8 min read
Explainer
JBS USA is a leading American meat processor responsible for some of the worst recalls, environmental scandals, and animal cruelty cases ever seen before.
Food•14 min read
Explainer
Tyson Foods produces 20 percent of the United States’ chicken, pork, and beef products. Their market dominance is won at the cost of cruelty to animals, harm to the environment,…
Food•12 min read
Explainer
An estimated 121 million pigs are slaughtered every year in the United States, and one pork producer is responsible for over 15 million of those deaths.
Food•12 min read
Explainer
Going vegan has never been easier. As grocery stores and restaurants add new vegan options and more information becomes available online, going vegan is the logical answer to anyone looking…
Health•16 min read
Explainer
The animals don’t care why you aren’t eating them. But on a human level there are distinctions between people's motives for their behavior.
Policy•12 min read
Explainer
Making the most out of a not-so-good thing can feel, well, kinda good, like ordering off of the secret vegan and vegetarian menu at your local fast food joint. It’s…
Health•5 min read
Explainer
Over the years, the Western Diet has created numerous dangers for people who follow it. Unfortunately, many of those people don’t realize they’re harming their body or are unwilling to…
Diet•13 min read
Explainer
Healthy weight loss involves a well-balanced diet, plenty of exercise, and a true understanding of how your actions impact your health. That goes for vegans, too.
Diet•11 min read
Explainer
The dairy industry is often presented to consumers as wholesome and humane. What actually goes on at dairy farms doesn’t match up with the marketing message, though. Dairy cows lead…
Food•12 min read
Explainer
Vegan snacks aren’t as elusive as you might think. After you have a few months of veganism under your belt, you’ll feel more confident about choosing snacks and meals that…
Diet•11 min read
Explainer
There’s nothing inherently dangerous about a raw vegan diet. It’s naturally full of antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, and heart-healthy foods. Let's dive in to the wonders and misconceptions of this diet.
Diet•10 min read
Explainer
Food labeling isn’t nearly as clear, concise, and transparent as it should be. Lots of people are confused about what specific food labels mean, especially those that are often used…
Food•12 min read
Explainer
Vegan health is an important topic for everyone, even if you’re not quite vegan yet. The more you learn about your food choices as well as other things that impact…
Diet•13 min read
Explainer
Pigs are highly intelligent, social creatures that deserve compassion and respect. They don't deserve to spend their short lives confined to atrocious conditions waiting for imminent slaughter.
Food•16 min read
Explainer
The facts don't lie: we’re using grain and other perfectly human-edible nutritious plants to bulk up animals for destruction instead of feeding people who can’t feed themselves.
Law & Policy•11 min read
Explainer
The idea that we need to consume meat to remain healthy is a myth rooted in a culture with customs of eating meat and in an industry that wants to…
Food•13 min read
Explainer
Becoming vegan is one of the best ways in which you can contribute to a healthier environment — as well as a healthier you. While becoming vegan might seem like…
Health•16 min read
Explainer
The best reason to choose plant-based protein is that it’s a cruelty-free source of something you need.
Science•15 min read
Explainer
If you aren’t aware of the many vegan benefits, you might want to sit down. How you approach your diet can have a massive impact on things like energy levels…
Climate•13 min read
Explainer
Animals are suffering. The climate is on the brink. People are dying from preventable diseases, and it all starts with what we eat.
Diet•6 min read
Explainer
Animal rights groups exist for one reason: Because animals need them. Animals can’t fight for themselves beyond teeth and nails, which are essentially useless against human beings as a collective,…
Policy•12 min read
Explainer
Let’s review: There are over 100 billion farmed animals alive today. That’s more than 10 times the number of humans, and in the U.S., where most humans live with enough…
Food•2 min read
Explainer
Chickens and laying hens that have continuous access outside are considered “free-range” as labeled by the USDA. For egg-producing hens, this access must be available throughout their laying cycle. The…
Food•1 min read
Explainer
Affran Moffat/Flickr DuBreton, a farming operation providing Certified Humane and organic pork to millions of people around the world, invested $40 million into establishing more humane farming practices since 2015.…
Food•2 min read
Explainer
Proposition 12 in California would establish new cage-free housing requirements for baby veal calves, mother pigs, and egg-laying hens. The ballot initiative looks similar to California’s first “cage-free” initiative from…
Law & Policy•2 min read
Explainer
In 1971, President Richard Nixon signed the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, the first federal legislation of its kind designated to protect the nation’s wild horse population on both…
Law & Policy•1 min read
Explainer
Cage-free is a labeling term regulated by the USDA. It refers to eggs that require hens to be raised in an enclosed facility or building where they have unlimited access…
Food•1 min read
Explainer
Passed in 1918, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act makes it illegal to “take posses, import, export, transport, sell, purchase, barter, or offer for sale, purchase, or barter, any migratory bird,…
Law & Policy•1 min read
Explainer
World Farm Animal Day came and went! Celebrate by supporting animal welfare in the 2018 Farm Bill. Here's a sample email addressed to your member of Congress that expresses your…
Law & Policy•1 min read
Explainer
🐷 Sows are dying at alarming rates—rising from 5.8% to 10.2% on farms with more than 125 sows. There’s no clear cause yet, but experts point to vitamin deficiency, mycotoxins…
Food•1 min read
Explainer
Throughout history, there have been doubts about the health benefits of vegetarianism. In the 1980s, The American Diabetic Association was concerned about the health merits of an all-vegetable diet. Now,…
Diet•1 min read
Explainer
For the first time since 2012, meat is on the rise. Exports for the 35.4-billion-dollar beef industry are forecasted to increase 5% in 2018. Broiler meat, which are chickens raised…
Food•2 min read
Explainer
The concept of animal intelligence has its roots in the theory of sentience, or an animal’s ability to experience both positive and negative emotions. Philosophers and scientists have debated the…
Science•1 min read
Explainer
In 1970, the public began to voice their outrage to Congress over the treatment of Tennessee walking horses for the show ring. There was a call for politicians to ban…
Law & Policy•1 min read
Explainer
Vladimir Morozov/akxmedia This federal law set standards for animals being raised for food and transported across state lines. It states: animals that fit into this criteria cannot be transported by "rail…
Law & Policy•1 min read
Explainer
IAEA/Flickr This legislative mandate directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to create and enforce guidelines for the care and treatment of animals used in research. It's important to…
Law & Policy•1 min read
Explainer
Originally passed in 1958, the law was amended in 1978, then again in 2002. It requires USDA inspected slaughterhouses maintain the proper handling and humane treatment of all animals slaughtered…
Law & Policy•1 min read
Explainer
Manure from agricultural operations and livestock farms is the main source from which phosphorus and nitrogen enter surface and groundwater. Rainwater and over-irrigation cause these elements to seep into waterways…
Climate•1 min read
Explainer
The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) was preceded in the 1960’s by a public outcry about the growing theft of cats and dogs to be sold for laboratory research. Life and…
Law & Policy•2 min read
Explainer
A hatchery is used to raise eggs under controlled conditions. Most poultry hatcheries in the United States operate under a vertically integrated system, where the company that owns or supplies…
Food•1 min read
You have read 0 articles.
As a fiercely independent, reader-supported news outlet, we’re unswayed by advertisers and profit margins. Your support funds investigative journalism, fact-checked explainers, resources for journalists and partnerships with publishers to boost reporting on the most pressing issues of our time. Read more