In the early years of this century, I met Jason Matheny, an early advocate for cultured meat and the founder of the cultured meat company, New Harvest, in 2004. Matheny asserted that meat cultivated from the cells of cattle, pigs, chickens, and other farmed animals...
Approximately fifteen years ago, The Lancet, a British medical journal, launched a series of Commissions to produce expert reports on health issues and related policy questions. The Lancet website now lists ninety-seven such commissions ranging from reports on specific health issues – e.g., Covid-19 –...
FAIRR, which stands for Farm Animal Investment Risk and Return, was established in 2015 by Jeremy Coller, whom Forbes Magazine recognizes as one of the most influential private equity managers. Over the past decade, Coller has transformed FAIRR into one of the largest investor groups...
The anthology. resulting from a conference organized by Compassion in World Farming, Regenerative Farming and Sustainable Diets (2025, Routledge Press) and edited by Joyce D’Silva and Carol McKenna, includes thirty-four chapters addressing how society could produce, distribute and consume food for the well-being of humans,...
Certain foods mark the various seasons of the year, such as mince pies at Christmas, hot cross buns at Easter, matzah at Passover, and harira at Ramadan. One is spoiled for choice in summer as local farmers' markets sell various melons, vine-ripened tomatoes, fresh blackberries...
In 1964, a provocative essay was published by British social anthropologist Edmund Leach in the proceedings of the 17th International Congress of Psychology. The organizer of the congress, Eric Lenneberg, commented that he used the occasion to invite outstanding scientists to discuss the phenomenon of...
In a critical step towards global sustainability, the United Nations (UN) adopted seventeen Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) in 2015. SDG12 addressed consumption and production. Its third indicator target (SDG 12.3) focused on food waste and loss. The UN set a target of halving food waste by...
At the end of 2023, Open Philanthropy, a nonprofit organization, distributed its newsletter, including a global progress report on farmed animal welfare and food system change. Lewis Bollard, the Farm Animal Welfare Program Officer for Open Philanthropy, authored the report. Bollard’s initial comments address the...
On May 19, 2023, a consortium of 98 organizations and individuals sent a letter to Dr. Hoesung Lee, the current chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), expressing their deep concern at "the potential influence of the meat industry's years-long campaign of interference...
In the last few years, several major reports have all called for changes in the world’s food system – usually emphasizing the need to shift to diets that emphasize plant-based nutrition – to ensure a sustainable future for the planet. These reports include:- 2015 WHO...
