News
The number of news found: 14.
11/29/2019 CONCERNS OVER THE SPECIES AS FIRES MAY HAVE KILLED UP TO 1,000 KOALAS
As Australia experiences record-breaking drought and bushfires, koala populations have dwindled along with their habitat, leaving one group claiming the species is "functionally extinct," though not all koala experts accept this claim. The chairman of the Australian Koala Foundation, Deborah Tabart, estimates that over 1,000 koalas have been killed from the fires and that 80 percent of their habitat has been destroyed. Recent bushfires, along with prolonged drought and deforestation, has led to koalas becoming "functionally extinct," according to the Australian Koala Foundation. Functional extinction is when a population becomes so limited that they no longer play a significant role in their ecosystem and the population becomes no longer viable. While some individuals could reproduce, the limited number of koalas makes the long-term viability of the species unlikely and highly susceptible to disease. Deforestation and bushfires destroy the main nutrient source of koalas, the eucalyptus tree. Many are urging the Australian government to enact the Koala Protection Act, written in 2016 but never passed into law and molded after the Bald Eagle Protection Act in the U.S. The Koala Protection Act would work to protect habitats and trees vital to koalas as well as protect koalas from hunting. (forbes.com)
11/28/2019 NEARLY ONE-THIRD OF AMERICANS ARE CONSIDERING A MEAT-FREE THANKSGIVING
Nearly one-third of Americans (28.6 percent) are considering serving a meatless meal this Thanksgiving, according to data collected by market research firm Dynata on behalf of vegan brand The Meatless Farm. Dynata surveyed a representative sample of 1,050 Americans about their eating habits this Thanksgiving. The data uncovered that younger generations are more inclined to break with tradition, with 44 percent of those aged 18 to 24 and 45 percent of those aged 25 to 34 responding that they open to serving a meat-free Thanksgiving. Personal health was the leading driver for 60 percent of the respondents to go meat-free—a factor that becomes more important with age. The Meatless Farm launched its first vegan meat products in 2018 in the United Kingdom before expanding to the United States earlier this year. (vegnews.com)
11/27/2019 MORE THAN 14,000 SHEEP DROWN AFTER "DEATH SHIP" CAPSIZES IN THE BLACK SEA
More than 14,000 sheep who drowned in the Black Sea on November 24 after a live-export ship traveling from Romania to Saudi Arabia capsized. Although there was a rescue operation, only 32 of the sheep were reportedly saved. All 20 crew members were rescued, according to reports. Initial investigations reportedly suggest that the "death ship" was overloaded—unsurprising, considering we’re talking about the live-export trade, which treats animals as commodities rather than the living, feeling individuals that they are. Bred in Romania (where about 70,000 sheep are exported every year) and packed onto a ship to face their deaths in the Middle East, these sheep were doomed from the start. Even if they hadn't drowned, many would have starved to death, been trampled, or become ill and died during the trip to Saudi Arabia. Upon arrival, those who survived the hellish journey likely would have been kicked, beaten, prodded, and dragged off trucks and into slaughterhouses by their ears and legs. Eventually, most would have had their throats cut while they were still conscious, as halal slaughter standards dictate. This is hardly the first live-export tragedy to occur. Just last year, roughly 2,400 sheep died—mostly from heat stress—while being shipped from Australia to the Middle East. In 2012, 22,000 sick sheep suffered horrifically aboard two live-export ships—again, heading from Australia to the Middle East—after they were turned away in Bahrain and forced to endure an additional 14 days at sea. (peta.org)
11/25/2019 HOUSE APPROVES BILL TO ELIMINATE SALE OF SHARK FINS ALL OVER THE USA
Last week, the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act was passed by the United States House of Representatives by a vote of 310 to 107. The bill—led by representatives Gregorio Sablan (D-MNI) and Michael McCaul (R-TX)—prohibits the import, export, possession, trade, and distribution of shark fins and products containing shark fins in the country. The act of shark finning and possession of shark fins aboard a vessel is currently prohibited in US waters under the 2010 Shark Conservation Act, but the law does not stop domestic trade. Shark fins sold in the country come from all over the world, including locations that have no ban on finning. After sharks are captured, fishermen will remove their fins and release them back into the ocean to die. By banning the trade, the US will help to alleviate shark finning, reduce the global demand for shark fins, and conserve shark populations. The legislation will now be moved to the Senate for final vote and, if passed, will move on to the president's desk for signature into law. (vegnews.com)
11/22/2019 PARIS BANS WILD ANIMAL CIRCUSES
Wild animal circuses will no longer exist in Paris, following a resolution passed by the city council that will prohibit new land authorizations by the end of 2020. The city will reward €50,000 ($55,000) across three years to each circus that contractually agrees to cease exploiting animals for entertainment. Paris currently has three circus companies that exploit wild animals: Cirque Royale, Bouglione, and Gruss. Bouglione owns its own land so the city cannot enforce the resolution while Gruss' permit is up for renewal in 2020, at which point it will have to comply with the resolution. "We will no longer give authorization for the use of public space to any circus that presents shows featuring wild animals," Pénélope Komitès, Paris' Secretary for City Nature, said. "We can all collectively celebrate this decision, which marks a social step forward demanded by all French people." Paris joins 65 other French municipalities—and a growing list of countries, most recently the United Kingdom—in banning wild animal circuses. (vegnews.com)
11/20/2019 FORD DEBUTS VEGAN MUSTANG MODEL
Ford recently unveiled its newest car model: the vegan Mustang Mach-E SUV—which will be available for purchase online and at certified Ford dealerships in late 2020. The electric SUV is a departure from Ford's traditional Mustang models in its design, including its interior—which can be ordered in a variety of trims, all of which are vegan. "We wanted it to be an animal-free product," Brittany Moss, a color and materials designer at Ford, said about the Mach-E. Moss explained that the decision for making a fully vegan model was based on the type of customer Ford hopes to attract. Ford is joining a growing number of car manufacturers in creating new vegan models, including Volvo (which will release Polestar 2, its first vegan car, in 2020); Tesla (which finally developed a vegan steering wheel for its Model 3 earlier this year); and Audi (which will begin manufacturing its vegan e-tron GT concept car in 2020.) (vegnews.com)
11/18/2019 90 PERCENT OF PLANT-BASED FOOD CONSUMERS ARE NOT VEGAN OR VEGETARIAN
The majority of consumers (90 percent) that purchase plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy are not vegetarian or vegan, according to a new report published by market research firm The NPD group. The report found that millennials born between 1981 and 1986 are the top consumers of plant-based alternatives to traditional animal-derived products. Generation Xers (born between 1965 and 1980) are also a core group of plant-based food consumers as many are parents of Generation Zers (born after 1997) who are increasingly more interested in meat- and dairy-free foods. "First and foremost, taste is king when considering entering the plant-based foods category," Darren Seifer, NPD food and beverage industry analyst, said. "Attributes such as health and convenience go far to drive consumption, but if the flavor profile falls below consumers’ expectations, then the product will likely have a short run." In July, The NPD Group reported that US consumers purchased 228 million plant-based burgers at quick-service restaurants in the first half of 2019—representing a 10-percent increase from the same time period last year. According to The NPD Group, most of these consumers (a whopping 95 percent) also purchased beef products during that time period. (vegnews.com)
11/15/2019 ANOTHER UK UNIVERSITY VOTES TO DITCH BEEF
The University of East Anglia's (UAE) student-elected Union Council voted to stop the sale of beef on campus in an effort to fight climate change. The students want to build on the existing Meat Free Monday policy on campus with new vegan food options on other days and a general shift away from environmentally damaging foods such as meat and dairy. UAE's vote follows a number of other educational institutions that have banned beef in recent months, including Goldsmith's college, University of Cambridge, and University of Coimbra—the oldest university in Portugal. Nonprofit Moving Animals joined UK's #NoBeef campaign to create guides and support systems to help universities transition to meat-free menus. "Universities continue to have a major role in implementing policies and influencing public thought, as well as providing much of the academic work and research that creates the conversation around the climate catastrophe," Moving Animals co-founder Paul Healey said. Other universities are also interested in removing environmentally destructive foods from their dining halls, including Oxford University, which plans to eliminate beef by the end of the year, according to Kaya Axelsson, Vice President of Charities and Communities at the prestigious school, who said that the beef ban is "something students are pushing for, and it is part of our broader climate action plan." (vegnews.com)
11/14/2019 250 STADIUMS, ARENAS, AND CONVENTION CENTERS WILL SOON SERVE 20 MORE VEGAN MEALS
Twenty new vegan meals will soon be added to the menus of more than 250 arenas, stadiums, and convention centers across the United States. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Spectra Food Services & Hospitality—a leading provider of food services for venues across North America—are partnering for the first-ever Plant-Based Innovation Workshop on November 14 at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, FL where HSUS and Spectra chefs will create the 20 menu items for concession and catering menus at Spectra-managed venues that serve millions annually, including the Atlantic City Convention Center, Canvas Stadium in Colorado State University, and McCaw Hall at Seattle Center. "More and more people are choosing to eat plant-based foods either occasionally or at every meal for their health, for the planet, and to reduce the number of animals used for food," Josephine Morris, HSUS food policy manager, said. "We are excited to work with the Spectra chefs to make their plant-based options the most colorful, delicious, and hearty choices for vegetarians and meat eaters alike so that everyone has wonderful options when they attend events." (vegnews.com)
11/11/2019 FOUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN BRAZIL ARE GOING VEGAN
Four municipalities in rural Brazil are going vegan because of one activist: Leticia Baird, a prosecutor in the Bahia state public ministry. In an effort to spark change for more environmentally friendly and healthier eating, Baird is working to serve only plant-based meals to the area's more than 33,000 students. In 2018, Baird led the creation of the Escola Sustentável (Sustainable School) program, which has since persuaded the schools to serve vegan meals three days per week, featuring items such as oatmeal, vegan bread, peanut butter, and meat-free kibbe. However, despite the positive change, Baird has received backlash from parents, members of the Council of School Food, the Federal Council of Nutritionists, and even the National Fund for Educational Development (the agency that oversees school meals), which threatened to suspend funding if local mayors removed animal products every day of the week. After the federal threat, the cafeterias have scaled back their plant-based offerings to two days per week. Baird's goal is that by the end of next year, the students will be eating vegan food four out of five school days. (vegnews.com)
11/08/2019 11,000 SCIENTISTS DECLARE CLIMATE EMERGENCY
This week, the Alliance of World Scientists published a report in scientific journal BioScience declaring a climate emergency and calling for a global reduction in the consumption of meat and dairy products. "Scientists have a moral obligation to clearly warn humanity of any catastrophic threat and to 'tell it like it is,'" the report states. "On the basis of this obligation and the graphical indicators presented below, we declare, with more than 11,000 scientist signatories from around the world, clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency." The scientists—who hail from various universities from 153 countries—examined 40 years of publicly available data to define six categories in which immediate action must be taken to slow climate change. "Eating mostly plant-based foods while reducing the global consumption of animal products, especially ruminant livestock, can improve human health and significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions," the food category of the report states. "Moreover, this will free up croplands [sic] for growing much-needed human plant food instead of livestock feed, while releasing some grazing land to support natural climate solutions." Last month, William J. Ripple (one of the lead authors of this report) along with 64 other scientists signed a demand letter urging mayors worldwide to take climate action by reducing the amount of meat and dairy served to children in school cafeterias. (vegnews.com)
11/07/2019 DENMARK PAID $1.6 MILLION TO FREE 4 CIRCUS ELEPHANTS
The Danish government bought the last four remaining circus elephants in the country. Denmark paid $1.6 million to give the animals a proper retirement. This is ahead of a proposed ban on the use of all wild animals in circuses that could pass later this year. The Danish government purchased the four elephants — Ramboline, Lara, Djunga, and Jenny — in September. Animal Protection Denmark will look after the animals for six-to-eight months until a custom space is created for them at Knuthenborg Safari Park. Along with the four elephants, the Danish government also adopted a camel named Ali. The animal is a long-term friend of Ramboline, one of the elephants, and both lived and worked with Cirkus Trapez. (livekindly.co)
11/06/2019 THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND DITCHES FUR FOR GOOD
Starting this winter, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will no longer wear fur. "If Her Majesty is due to attend an engagement in particularly cold weather, from 2019 onwards fake fur will be used to make sure she stays warm," The Queen’s official dresser (stylist) Angela Kelly wrote in her new memoir, excerpts of which were reported this week by Vogue. Animal-rights organizations that have worked to end the cruel fur trade industry globally applauded The Queen's decision to no longer wear fur. In 2000, the United Kingdom was the first country in the world to ban fur farming but it continues to import the cruelly begotten material from other countries. (vegnews.com)
11/04/2019 WALMART ENDS LIVE FISH SALES
Following a decade-long PETA effort and urging from tens of thousands of PETA supporters, world's largest retailer Walmart is ending the sale of live fish. The move comes after scores of concerned individuals contacted PETA and have posted online disturbing reports of cruelty and neglect, describing incidents in which fish were cruelly tossed out with the trash, left to suffocate to death slowly, or flushed down toilets. Others lingered in filthy water inside containers stacked one on top of another—along with some who were already dead—on the shelves. In thanks for Walmart's decision to end this cruel practice, PETA is sending the company a box of vegan fish-shaped chocolates. (vegnews.com)
The number of news found: 14.
