Philosopher Peter Singer has been awarded $1 million as the winner of the 2021 Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture. As is fitting of both the ‘father of effective altruism’ and the author of the extremely influential book Animal Liberation, Singer plans to donate a third of the money to the most effective organisations working to end factory farming.

Several stories in recent weeks have emerged about wild boar. Together they paint a vivid picture of contradictions in everything from environmentalism to zoonotic diseases, as Claire Hamlett explains.

The news yesterday that Dutch politicians are discussing new laws to compel farmers to sell off animals or reduce herd sizes in an effort to address ecological concerns could be a first for any nation.

Twenty meat and dairy producers are emitting more greenhouse gases than three of Europe’s largest economies - Germany, France or Britain - flying in the face of calls to greatly reduce the impact of the livestock sector on the environment.

PICTURE STORY: Alejandro Prieto’s winning entry into this year’s Bird Photographer of the Year competition - a roadrunner seemingly blocked by the wall built by the Trump administration on the Mexico-US border - is a poignant reminder of the effect we humans have on those with whom we share this planet.

Hanging feeders and bird tables are mainstays of the idyllic British garden, topped up by well-intentioned ‘bird lovers’. Who can blame us for believing that we’re helping our feathered wildlife by leaving some seeds and nuts out, particularly in the winter when food is scarce? According to a study out this month, we could be doing more harm than good, writes Andrew Gough.

From bottle tops on beaches to microplastics in bodies, marine debris infiltrates the environment, animals and humans, posing an ever-growing threat to all life on our planet.

Marking the release of our latest video - The Truth About Plant Milks: Displacement of Indigenous People, Destruction & Deforestation - we take a look at cell-cultivated milk technology, said to take cows and other animals, including humans, out of milk production. More sustainable it might be, but is it actually more ethical?

GUEST ARTICLE: A new initiative calling on the world’s governments to come together and take urgent action to address the climate crisis by shifting to a plant-based system has been launched. Anita Kranjc and Nicola Harris explain the principle behind the Plant Based Treaty campaign, which has received widespread support from high-profile campaigners.

Following the bombshell that was the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment report on the climate crisis, people have been reassured by the implication that giving up flying is more impactful than giving up meat. This could not be further from the truth, as Claire Hamlett explains.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has today released a landmark report identifying methane as a key greenhouse gas (GHG) to include in strategies tackling global warming ‘unequivocally’ caused by human activities, including livestock farming.

The climate is breaking down before our eyes. This year has seen extreme weather events around the world, from the catastrophic floods in northern Europe and China to raging wildfires in Turkey, Greece, and the US, that have even shocked climate scientists. The disasters have produced many casualties, both human and non-human, with farmed animals among them.