The “Save Our Bacon Act” a.k.a. the “SOB Act,” and the FIGHT Act head a long list of Farm Bill 2026 showdown items WASHINGTON D.C.––Thursday, August 6, 2026 is mark-up and amendment day, for reconciliation of the Senate and House of Representatives versions 2026 Farm Bill. That makes August 6, 2026 the showdown day at […]
Save Our Pigs! Guest column by Lewis Bollard
The pork lobby is one farm bill away from gutting our strongest farm animal welfare laws Lewis Bollard heads the Farm Animal Welfare Program at Open Philanthropy. Lewis Bollard’s ANIMALS 24-7 guest column, below, was originally posted to Bollard’s own Substack blog, ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Narrow aim, wider reach Last Thursday, April 30, 2026, the U.S. House of […]
Ridglan Farms beagle purchase: smokescreen for Farm Bill disaster
1,500 beagles win; 76 million pigs lose. WASHINGTON D.C.; MIDDLETON, Wisconsin––Even as the U.S. House of Representatives on the morning of April 30, 2026 passed the 2026 Farm Bill, by a vote of 224-200, which if also passed by the U.S. Senate would erase Wayne Pacelle’s signature political achievements on behalf of 76 million farmed […]
Worst-yet egg barn fire makes case for cell-cultured “animal” products
Mississippi as usual tries to ban progress CORWITH, Iowa––A March 26, 2026 barn fire at the Hawkeye Pride Egg Farm near Corwith, Iowa, 30 miles west of Mason City, still burning well into March 27, is believed to have brought the most animal deaths of any fire in U.S. history. The Hawkeye Pride Egg Farm […]
Make cruelty unprofitable again, by Lewis Bollard
How to crack the cruelty collective action problem Lewis Bollard heads the Farm Animal Welfare Program at Open Philanthropy. Lewis Bollard’s ANIMALS 24-7 guest column, below, originally posted to Bollard’s own Substack blog, spotlights a situation in the United Kingdom paralleling what would happen in the United States if U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee […]
No Valentines for animals in GOP Farm Bill released on Friday the 13th
The SOB Act, to overturn state-level farmed animal protections, is incorporated as a central feature of the draft 2026 Farm Bill WASHINGTON D.C.––U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee chair Glenn “GT” Thompson, a Republican from Pennsylvania, waited until late on Friday the 13th of February 2026 to release the bad news text of the “Farm, […]
Can end of the “milk mandate” topple the new upside down Food Pyramid?
Fat cloud over school lunches may have a soy milk silver lining WASHINGTON D.C.––If U.S. president Donald Trump imagined that his January 14, 2026 media conference held to celebrate his signing of the Whole Milk For Healthy Kids Act might upstage the fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis a week earlier by ICE agent […]
New Year’s resolutions for animals, or just more political promises?
Europeans expect advances, Americans will have to defend gains, & Indian government dithers on WASHINGTON D.C.; LONDON; ROME; NEW DELHI––If political promises can be taken as New Year’s resolutions, 2026 might become an even better year for animals than was 2025. 2025 ended with a salute from Francisco Vásquez Neira, president of the international animal […]
Brigitte Bardot, 91, movie star for 20 years, animal advocate for 52 years
Brigitte Bardot: provocative on film, but even more provocative for animals, for more than twice as long PARIS, France––Brigitte Bardot, 91, a fashion model for four years, a film actress for 20 years, and a full-time animal advocate for the last 52 years of her life, died on December 28, 2025 of undisclosed causes at […]
The Lone Star tick-transmitted meat allergy kills first known human victim
Anyone east of the Mississippi who has been bitten by a Lone Star tick & eats red meat is potentially vulnerable––and the tick could spread west CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia––Texas ranchers, with a cattle inventory exceeding 12 million, leading the U.S. in beef production, would no doubt prefer that the phrase “Lone Star” be associated with the […]