While horse slaughter has ceased within the United States itself, the slaughter of American horses for meat has not. It has simply shifted across borders. Read more in The Core: buff.ly/Bb1AYCK

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Feeding candy to cows is not only done to curb waste and allow major corporations like Cargill to boost their sustainability claims. It also saves them money.

Of all the human practices that are gradually destroying the environment, overconsumption is one of the most significant and least discussed.

Sentient's @ninaelkadi.com is joining Ben Kieffer on @iowapublicradio.org to discuss her recent investigation into Iowa's water pollution. Tune in now! ⬇️

Trade groups, lawmakers, and economists agree that the increased imports from Argentina are unlikely to lower beef prices in the U.S. But regardless of the trade deal's popularity, it almost certainly spells trouble for the environment. @fridagarza.bsky.social reports for @grist.org:

Commercial fishing is destroying ecosystems around the world. Is anything being done about it?

A retired Cargill meat scientist urged the industry to take seriously a growing list of health concerns, including lameness, heat stress, congestive heart failure and late-term deaths in feedyards. @juanvassallo.bsky.social reports via @investigatemidwest.bsky.social:

As industrial agriculture expands in Brazil, India, Mexico and Zimbabwe, cases framed around pollution and health — plus working with agencies to enforce the law — succeed more than arguments centered on animal welfare.

Nitrate pollution is straining small water facilities in Iowa. What can these communities do when their water is undrinkable? Tune in to River to River on @iowapublicradio.org tomorrow at 12:20 PM CT to hear Sentient Editor-at-Large @ninaelkadi.com discuss her latest investigation:

The Clean Water Act requires people and operations that pollute certain waters of U.S. to obtain discharge permits, but some factory farms instead transfer their manure to non-permitted farms. This is one reason why about 70% of all factory farms don’t have discharge permits.

Critics argue that New York City could do more to tackle its food waste problem.

After focusing heavily on vaccine policy in 2025, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will spend this year talking up healthy eating. @sherylnyt.bsky.social reports for @nytimes.com:

“I just started a carnivore diet back in December,” writes one social media user. Since then, the commenter continued, “I have only passed stool maybe three times.”

As avian flu surges again, advocates in California believe it’s imperative that farmworkers receive more protective gear and training on the virus in their primary language. @greymoran.bsky.social reports:

Just how is lab-grown, or cultivated, meat actually made? Here are the basics, explained simply. buff.ly/p3gQVJJ

A look at common slaughterhouse practices around the country makes it pretty clear that in reality, inhumane handling and slaughter of animals is standard practice in the meat industry, and goes mostly unchecked by the federal government. buff.ly/BiZx2Ch

Millions of birds have been exposed to the avian flu virus since the beginning of January alone.

The United States has finalized a deal with Argentina that is expected to more than quadruple beef imports from the South American country. Rebekah Alvey reports for @civileats.com:

The research used simulation modeling to determine how different diets impact the environment and human health.

A new legal analysis outlines how animal advocates and concerned citizens in Brazil, India, Mexico and Zimbabwe are leveraging the legal system to uphold and even expand livestock’s legal protections. @gracehussain.bsky.social reports:

If global food waste was a country, it would be the third largest greenhouse gas emitter, after China and the United States. Here's how to reduce our impact.

Forested land is sometimes cleared by loggers, or to make way for urban expansion or energy projects. But agriculture is the biggest driver of deforestation by leaps and bounds: farmland expansion is responsible for 88% of deforestation around the world, according to @fao.org.

Contract farming may sound like a good economic model, but many farmers say it’s left them debt-ridden.

Cattle with drug-resistant tuberculosis lead researchers to call for better monitoring of cross-species transmission of TB.

Agrihoods reimagine urban living by putting food, not cars, at the center of the community. @mrmattsimon.bsky.social reports for @grist.org:

Consumers who follow a high-protein, meat-heavy diet like keto, paleo and carnivore typically end up taking in much less fiber than what most doctors recommend — or even none at all.

Bird flu is back with a vengeance, after subsiding temporarily in the summer and fall. Seth Millstein reports:

As immigrant detention numbers creep upward, some advocates are worried that detainees could be compelled to work to fill gaps in the workforce of some of the most dangerous jobs in the country, including on factory farms and in slaughterhouses. buff.ly/lh0tZ6f

“Trees are a habitat on the outside and on the inside,” Doug Larson, professor emeritus of Integrative Biology at @uofguelph.bsky.social, says. “The more we can shine a spotlight on these invisible worlds, the better.”

A new study finds that restoring coral reef fisheries could feed multitudes, especially where food is most needed.

Late 2025 marked the most severe three-month stretch in more than a decade for the gap between what agriculture producers pay to operate and what they receive in return. Lauren Cross reports for @investigatemidwest.bsky.social:

Canada remains one of the top ten producers of horse meat in the world. The country breeds and farms horses specifically for meat, raising them on feedlots much the same as cattle.

Health experts continue to warn that most of us don’t get enough fiber, a problem not helped by Americans’ insatiable appetite for protein. @jesslsr.bsky.social reports:

The National Chicken Council reports that Americans will consume 1.47 billion chicken wings for the Super Bowl. This is no surprise, as football is synonymous with masculinity, and so is meat. But because men eating much more meat than women, their climate impact is also greater.

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Although studies on farm animal cognition have been scant, that’s beginning to change.

Using ecological and fisheries data, the researchers found that rebuilding coral reef fish populations could significantly increase the number of sustainable fish servings produced each year, particularly in countries already facing high levels of malnutrition.

Promoting dairy milk of any sort is not exclusive to the Trump administration, nor the Republican party. @kennytorrella.bsky.social reports for @vox.com:

ICYMI: Join @ninaelkadi.com and @greymoran.bsky.social TODAY to learn how to turn a public records request into a story ⬇️

As some high-end restaurants reintroduce meat, young vegan cooks are adapting. Caroline Saunders reports via @grist.org:

To keep meat on the tables of Americans, meat processing industry lobbyists collectively spent $5.5 million in Washington, D.C. in 2024, according to @opensecrets.org.

While horse slaughter has ceased within the United States itself, the slaughter of American horses for meat has not. It has simply shifted across borders. @jesslsr.bsky.social reports:

The strategic relaunch of meat, from industry-aligned influencers to lawmakers declaring meat alternatives as threats to tradition, positions it as more natural, essential and all-American. And it’s working.

Sprinkled across the United States — more often than is being reported — rural residents are experiencing threats to their water health, soil health and community by way of large-scale industrialized animal operations.

Inspired by YouTube creators, some people are limiting beef to a handful of ‘feast days’ a year to cut their climate impact. Rosie Peters-McDonald reports for @theguardian.com:

Sentient’s analysis finds 38 different agricultural companies were cited for noncompliance with NPDES permits, and only one was fined.

A rising number of antibiotic drugs that are essential for human health are now being sold for use in farm animals, according to @fda.gov data. Read more in The Core: buff.ly/R6HvwK4

Agriculture and data centers are rarely mentioned in the same breath. But both are competing for the same dwindling, finite resource: freshwater.

Nitrate pollution is straining small water facilities in Iowa, even when they have advanced filtration systems.