First pig-hauler conviction, cultivated meat scales, Veganz files insolvency

Clark County Circuit Court in Wisconsin found Jerith Dville Kane Ellis guilty in what PETA describes as the first conviction in U.S. history under state law for transporting farmed animals in conditions that caused their deaths [84]. The case originated from a PETA tip. Ellis hauled pigs roughly 432 miles from Lynch Livestock in South Dakota to a Wisconsin slaughterhouse through wind chills that reached –27°F; the truck arrived when outside temperatures were still –4°F. A USDA inspector documented the outcome: 7 pigs died during transport, 5 were in such poor condition they required immediate euthanasia on arrival, and 3 more died shortly after unloading. Several surviving pigs had extensive frostbite [84]. The "first in U.S. history" characterization comes from PETA, the advocacy group whose tip initiated the case; it refers specifically to a state-law conviction for transport conditions causing animal deaths. Industry data cited by PETA puts U.S. pig transport deaths at more than 1 million annually [84].

On June 25, 2026, Planethic Group AG, the Berlin-listed holding company formerly known as Veganz Group AG, filed for insolvency proceedings under self-administration in Germany [21][59][64]. Under German insolvency law, the management team continues running operations under a court-appointed trustee. The filing covers only the holding company; subsidiaries Mililk, Happy Cheeze, Peas on Earth, and the Veganz consumer brand continue trading normally [64]. A bondholder meeting scheduled for July 21 to address the company's outstanding €10M corporate bond at 7.5% interest has been cancelled [21]. The restructuring follows three consecutive years of declining revenue: year-on-year sales fell 34% in 2024 to €10.8M, and the first half of 2025 generated just €2M [59]. The company went through three CEOs in eight weeks in 2025 before stabilizing under Sascha Voigt [59].

France's Parima, parent of cultivated-meat brands Gourmey (duck) and Vital Meat (chicken), reported producing cultivated duck at tonne-scale volume in a single run on Vow's 22,000-liter bioreactor at Vow's Sydney facility, achieving what the company describes as a 99% reduction in cost compared to its own earlier production runs [57]. Parima and Vow identify the Vow facility as the largest food-grade cell culture bioreactor globally; Vow's Sydney capacity has previously been reported at 20,000-plus liters, consistent with that description. Parima's cost reduction is attributed to successive improvements in cell-culture yield, removal of expensive inputs (growth factors, albumin, insulin), and volume efficiencies at scale [57]. The process uses non-GMO cells grown as undifferentiated biomass in suspension, without scaffolding or genetic modification. Vow co-founder George Peppou confirmed the run "delivered results on the first attempt." Neither the unit cost figure nor the total production volume has been independently audited: this is a joint announcement reported by Green Queen [57]. Parima awaits regulatory approval in Australia (an August 2026 target has reportedly slipped), the EU, UK, Switzerland, the U.S., and one undisclosed market [57].

The Save Our Bacon Act, a provision inserted into the House Farm Bill that would overturn California's and Massachusetts's laws banning in-state sales of pork from gestation-crated pigs, is stalling before reaching the Senate [82]. Gestation crates are enclosures so small that pregnant sows cannot turn around; millions of U.S. pigs are confined in them throughout their reproductive lives [82]. After voters in Florida, Arizona, Massachusetts, and California approved bans over two decades, the National Pork Producers Council sought a federal legislative override. The legislation passed the House Farm Bill but is absent from the Senate draft. Republican senator Roger Marshall (R-KS), a prior cosponsor, withdrew support. Vox's Future Perfect reports that commentators and politicians across the political spectrum, including Fox News host Tomi Lahren, far-right commentator Mike Cernovich, and bipartisan pairs of House members, have publicly condemned gestation crates after seeing them [82]. A 2025 poll found 84% of Americans oppose caging pigs, with Democrats only marginally more opposed than Republicans [82].

A leaked draft document, first reported by Euractiv and reviewed by Mongabay, shows the European Commission intends to formally remove leather from the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), the law requiring companies to prove their supply chains are not driving forest destruction [78]. The EUDR currently covers cattle, soy, palm oil, timber, cocoa, rubber, and coffee, and takes effect in December 2026. The Commission's stated justification in the draft is "supply chain considerations and load on the information system" [78]. Mongabay had previously reported that the Commission's own consultants explicitly tied leather to widespread forest destruction and that the compliance cost of including leather was relatively low; the Commission acknowledged that but chose exemption anyway [78]. Since 2021, leather industry groups led by COTANCE and Italy's UNIC have met EU lawmakers at least 22 times, with more than a third of those meetings occurring in the past year [78]. The same leaked draft extends EUDR coverage to palm-derived oleochemicals used in cosmetics, detergents, and food emulsifiers. The formal adoption of the delegated act is expected within weeks; the European Parliament and Council then have two months to object [78].