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 […]
RFK Jr., named to head Health & Human Services, offers little for animals
Former foe of factory pig farms Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lost interest in animal issues after a worm ate part of his brain WASHINGTON D.C.––Anti-vaxxers, raw milkers, foes of fast food, and a variety of vegan crackpots appreciative of views espoused by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. mostly before, in his own words, “A worm got […]
U.K. election: pro-animal & pro-Dangerous Dogs Act Labour slate wins big
Keir Starmer, set to become new U.K. prime minister, beat McDonald’s in landmark McLibel case & won freedom for last British circus elephant LONDON, U.K.––Detonating the only Fourth of July 2024 fireworks favorable to animals, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, 62, led his opposition party to a projected crushing United Kingdom general election victory over […]
New film “Common Enemy” fingers factory farming, if anyone sees it
Factory farming lurks almost unmentioned behind many political issues OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma––The Humane League on March 7, 2024 released Common Enemy, a free-to-view 35-minute online documentary exposé of factory farming in Oklahoma, linked to every mention in this review. The timing could scarcely have been worse. Common Enemy, released a week earlier to selected […]
Four recent “wins” by animal use industries: not big losses for animals
A closer look at each industry “win” tells a different story WASHINGTON D.C.––Four recent law-and-policy losses for anti-vivisectionists and vegans, celebrated by animal use industry fronts, are not all they appear to be at a glance, even if some animal advocacy lawyers and lobbyists are left licking their wounds. In the long run, some of […]
Money, power, & farmed animal advocacy: Jeff Thomas tells all
The Farm Animal Movement: Effective Altruism, Venture Philanthropy, & The Fight to End Factory Farming in America by Jeff Thomas Lantern Publishing & Media, P.O. Box 1350, Woodstock, NY 12498 200 pages; $19.95 paperback. www.lanternpm.org Reviewed by Merritt Clifton Former Humane Society of the United States [HSUS] policy analyst Jeff Thomas has previously been mentioned […]
Farmed animal advocate Wayne Hsiung gets 90 days; Canada gets ag gag
Likely to lose at COP28 climate conference, Big Meat agribusiness celebrates killing the messengers SANTA ROSA, California; OTTAWA, Canada––Big Meat agribusiness took a beating on the morning of November 30, 2023 in Dubai, United Emirates, at the opening of the COP28 United Nations conference on climate change. By afternoon, though, Big Meat agribusiness was celebrating […]
What Wayne Hsiung, Mercy for Animals, & others did for Thanksgiving
“Open rescues,” closed jail cells, undercover video, & two challenges to “ag gags” in Canada SANTA ROSA & LOS ANGELES, California––Mass media food sections, as always, fixated during the run-up to Thanksgiving 2023 on how best to roast turkeys. Vegan and vegetarian media comparably focused on promoting plant-based alternatives to turkey dinners Direct Action […]
Starring Miyoko Schinner in “The Decline & Fall of the Dairy Empire”
The Romans imagine they are still in charge while the Visigoths & Ostrogoths fight over the spoils of conquest SAN FRANCISCO, California––Imagine the U.S. dairy industry as the Roman empire, Miyoko Schinner as Alaric the Visigoth, who sacked Rome in 410 A.D., and the venture capitalists who ousted her from Miyoko’s Creamery in a recent […]
North Carolina “ag-gag” law fails in U.S. Court of Appeals
Two of three judges find that the North Carolina Property Protection Act violates the First Amendment RICHMOND, Virginia––A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on February 23, 2023 struck down the portions of the North Carolina ag-gag law most applicable to undercover investigations by animal advocates. The highly technical […]