13-year-old, $38 million facility was British leader HINXTON, U.K. —The Sanger Institute, a global leader since 2006 in producing genetically modified mice for biomedical research use, on May 16, 2019 announced to staff that it will close by 2022, if not sooner. The impending closure is among the first […]
“Best science” won’t protect “clean meat” from foes, warns vet of biotech wars
Fear of science & change will be weapons for animal industries trying to save their rump roasts CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts––“Do not assume that doing the best science possible will insulate you from criticism,” AquaBounty Technologies chief executive Ronald L. Stotish warned the New Harvest 2018 conference on “cellular agriculture,” toward the end of two days […]
“Rigor mortis is our biggest problem,” meat scientist tells cell culturing conference
Animal agribiz is about dead meat; cellular ag isn’t CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts––Rigor mortis is the biggest technical problem the meat industry has, John R. White Company meat scientist Benjy Mikel, Ph.D., of Birmingham, Alabama, emphasized on July 20, 2018 to the New Harvest 2018 conference on cellular agriculture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media […]
Ban “nut meat”! cries animal agribusiness
Animal ag biz strategists fear they can’t beat “clean meat” WASHINGTON D.C.––Killing the first edition of the 2018 Farm Bill on May 18, 2018, the U.S. House of Representatives kicked many a highly politicized can down the street for later consideration, including the first legislative attempt to determine what sort of can and labeling will […]
Hampton Creek founder Tetrick pledges his “clean meat” will be vegan
Cloned product will not be grown in serum culture, Tetrick says SAN FRANCISCO––Hampton Creek Foods founder Josh Tetrick, amid a mysterious destocking of all 20 Hampton Creek products by Target Corporation, the largest Hampton Creek customer, took a meme of unknown origin attacking cell-cultured meat seriously enough to call at 5:02 p.m. on Friday, […]
Why is animal use in labs up, even as public moral approval is down?
Anti-vivisection organizations claim victory while running on old momentum WASHINGTON D.C.–– Fewer Americans than ever before––just 51%, barely more than half––believe biomedical research on animals is ethically acceptable, according to 2017 Gallup polling data. Paradoxically, total use of animals in experiments appears to have soared to an all-time high, according to research funded by People […]
Can Tox21 robot take the gamble on animals out of toxicity testing?
Testing device uses cells instead of animals WASHINGTON D.C.––Can a robot detect substance toxicity toward humans faster and more accurately than a traditional test on rats, mice, fish, or other animals? The developers of the Tox21 robot, whose name is short for “Toxicology in the 21st Century,” are betting that the robot can outperform traditional […]
Smart money bets on bio-cultured meat
Facebook & Google financiers say animals are not the future of agribusiness BROOKLYN, SAN FRANCISCO, HONG KONG––Some leading edge investors in agribusiness with long successful histories are betting big-time that the future of animal agriculture will no longer involve raising animals. Li Ka-Shing, for example, the richest man in Asia, with net worth of […]
U.S. labs now using more animals than ever, data review finds
NORFOLK, Virginia––Seven years after National Institutes of Health director Francis S. Collins and his predecessor Elias Zerhouni heralded a turn away from animal testing, U.S. laboratories are using more animals than ever before, especially mice and rats, say People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals investigators Justin Goodman, Alka Chandna, and Katherine Roe. Goodman, Chandna, and […]
China drops animal testing rule for cosmetics, shampoos & perfumes
BEIJING––Effective on June 1, 2014 China will no longer require that cosmetics, shampoos, and perfumes be tested on animals, the China Food & Drug Administration announced on November 5, 2013. Instead of having to submit products to CFDA laboratories for testing, Chinese manufacturers will be allowed to submit the product safety data compiled to demonstrate […]