Vegan Prisoners Win at Europe's Top Court as Alt-Meat Plant Closes
The European Court of Human Rights ruled 6-1 that Switzerland violated two vegan prisoners' freedom of conscience, a binding precedent across the Council of Europe.
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The European Court of Human Rights ruled 6-1 that Switzerland violated two vegan prisoners' freedom of conscience, a binding precedent across the Council of Europe. [182]
02
No Meat Factory will shut its only US plant in Stanwood, Washington, cutting 123 jobs two years after opening it. [128]
03
Marineland began shipping six belugas to US aquariums this week after Canadian and US officials approved emergency transfer permits with no binding no-breeding guarantee. [154]
04
Health Canada cleared BMC Ingredients' Rhiza mycoprotein for sale, the company's third regulatory market after the US and Singapore. [126]
05
A 20-year study of nearly 67,000 postmenopausal women found the most plant-forward eaters had a 28% lower cardiovascular disease risk. [129]
06
Blink-182's Travis Barker became an equity partner and brand ambassador of vegan fast-food chain Mr. Charlie's as it expands nationwide. [148]
European Court Rules Switzerland Violated Vegan Prisoners' Freedom of Conscience
Photo: plant based news
“When someone is detained, hospitalised or otherwise dependent on public authorities for food, veganism cannot be brushed aside as a mere lifestyle or dietary choice.”
Jeanette Rowley, The Vegan Society's International Rights Network · [182]
By the numbers
6-1the ECHR's vote finding Switzerland violated the prisoners' Article 9 rights [182]
€16,000total compensation for moral damages the court ordered Switzerland to pay, plus roughly €10,000 in legal costs [182]
~800vegan prisoners estimated among England and Wales' roughly 87,300-person prison population in 2024 [182]
No Meat Factory Shuts Its Only US Plant, Cutting 123 Jobs
Photo: vegconomist
By the numbers
123jobs cut when the Stanwood, Washington plant closes September 16 [128]
$20 millionNo Meat Factory invested to convert the former Twin City Foods vegetable-processing plant into its first US site [128]
$42 millionraised in the company's Series B round in January 2023, led by Tengelmann Growth Partners [128]
Overstated"a return of manufacturing jobs to the county" (Economic Alliance Snohomish County, on the plant's 2023 opening) [128]. The plant closes two years later, eliminating all 123 of those jobs.
WatchSeparations take effect September 16, per the WARN filing. [128]
Health Canada Clears BMC Ingredients' Rhiza Mycoprotein for Sale
Photo: vegconomist
“Rhiza is a new crop for humanity: a whole-food mycelium made by fungi fermentation. While this fungi has been consumed for centuries by traditional cultures, thanks to BMC, it's now being farmed in a way that can help feed billions of people in a sustainable way.”
45%protein content of Rhiza mycoprotein, alongside roughly 30% fiber, per Health Canada's review [118]
$31 millionSeries A round BMC closed in 2025 to scale toward price parity with commodity beef [126]
Thirdregulatory market to clear Rhiza, after the US FDA and Singapore in 2024 [126]
Company claim"We project reaching price parity with wholesale commodity beef once fully commercialised in our new facility" (Paul Shapiro, BMC Ingredients CEO) [118]. The figure is the company's own unaudited projection for a facility not yet online.
WatchLarge-scale commercial volumes are expected once BMC's Asian co-manufacturing facility opens in Q2 2027. [118]
FromGreen Queenvegconomist the vegan business magazine
Worth Knowing
Food & Recipes
National Chicken Wing Day is today: skip the real thing and toss roasted cauliflower, tofu fries, or chickpeas in buffalo sauce instead. [83]
Tofurky returns to major UK grocery for the first time since 2020, landing chick'n pieces and deli slices on Ocado.com. [99]
A San Francisco man charged with torturing a kitten to death in an ATM booth skipped his own arraignment and remains free on a bench warrant. [87]
Innovation
A cashew Camembert called Cashbert took Supreme Winner at New Zealand's 2026 Vegan Cheese Awards. [125]
Cargill Ventures says it's ramping dealmaking again after two quiet years, with cultivated-meat and mycoprotein makers already in its portfolio. [100]
Gas-fermentation protein maker Calysta brought in a new CEO and is urgently seeking capital after its Chinese joint-venture partner ended financial support. [101]
PETA put up a Times Square billboard citing an Argentine court ruling that recognized two goldfish as sentient "subjects of law." [122]
Iowa's Transfarmation Project converted a former 8,000-pig-a-year hog barn into a specialty mushroom farm, its second demonstration hub. [120]
USDA will reopen three Mexican border ports to cattle imports starting August 24, aiming to cool record-high beef prices. [112]
FOUR PAWS UK research found four in five Britons support banning cages for farmed animals, but supermarket labels still obscure how animals were raised. [127]
Research & Nutrition
A controlled feeding trial found a whole-food, plant-based diet cut LDL cholesterol 17.9% in adults with a genetic high-cholesterol disorder. [4]
A meta-analysis of prospective studies found vegetarians had 13% lower total cancer risk and vegans 23% lower risk than non-vegetarians. [9]
Activism & Animals
Nearly a century after it was last recorded, a critically endangered Madagascar palm was rediscovered, with just 28 individuals found across four protected areas. [134]
One Good Thing
Baraka Moruri is 13 and has planted more than 7,600 trees since he was 9, inspired by a school assignment on Wangari Maathai. He wants a million by the time he turns 18, and he's already talked his grandmother into setting aside her own land for it. "Leaders should not leave us behind," he says. "We also have ideas and energy on how to combat climate change." [132]
vegconomist the vegan business magazine
Animal Justice
