FDA's food-safety overhaul hits alt-protein; GMO labels win in court
The FDA proposed ending the decades-old GRAS "self-affirm" loophole for food ingredients, a compliance shift that hits fermentation-based alt-protein makers hardest.
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The FDA proposed ending the decades-old GRAS "self-affirm" loophole for food ingredients, a compliance shift that hits fermentation-based alt-protein makers hardest [95].
02
A federal court gave USDA until January 1, 2028, to close a GMO-labeling loophole that let 70-80% of GMO foods dodge clear on-package labels [136].
03
The Trump administration stripped more Endangered Species Act protections, opening habitat that manatees and monarch butterflies depend on to industry [80].
04
Quebec's agriculture ministry documented livestock auction abuse in June 2025 and did nothing, an Animal Justice investigation into the same auction now reveals [118].
05
A meta-analysis of 30 studies found vegetarians cut total cancer risk 13% and vegans 23%, against non-vegetarians [11].
06
Superbrewed's fermented postbiotic protein matched whey for muscle-building in a new Texas A&M clinical trial, without the dairy [98].
FDA moves to close GRAS ingredient loophole, keeps UPF definition under wraps
Photo: green queen
“By proposing mandatory GRAS notifications, we are closing critical information gaps and giving the FDA greater visibility into substances entering the food supply.”
“Americans deserve a system where food safety decisions are made by independent experts at the FDA – not by the companies that profit from selling these chemicals.”
Melanie Benesh, EWG vice president for government affairs · [130]
By the numbers
967companies are expected to submit information for ingredients already self-affirmed as GRAS under the new streamlined pathway [95]
120-daypublic comment period begins when the rule publishes in the Federal Register on August 11 [95]
180 daysis FDA's new window to rule on a GRAS notice, after a 45-day pre-filing check [92]
Quebec sat on evidence of livestock auction abuse for a year
Photo: animal justice
“An employee was observed in the receiving area using abusive force with a stick on small calves (striking them inside the ribs) and on adult cattle (striking them in the head).”
MAPAQ inspection report, obtained by Animal Justice · [118]
By the numbers
June 9, 2025is the date of the MAPAQ inspection report documenting abuse at the same auction, over a year before Animal Justice's own 2026 investigation [118]
Trump rollback strips automatic protections for newly listed species
Photo: vegnews
“For far too long, Radical Climate Activists attempted to hold our Great Country hostage by drastically and unreasonably expanding the intended scope of the Endangered Species Act.”
“These latest attacks, which strip threatened species of protections and prioritize industry interests over science, will further risk sending our imperiled plants and animals toward extinction.”
Elizabeth Forsyth, Earthjustice senior attorney · [80]
By the numbers
300,000people visit Crystal River every year to see manatees in their natural habitat, now newly exposed to habitat loss [80]
Overstated"Now my Administration has returned the Endangered Species Act to how it was intended to be." (President Donald Trump) [80]. The Supreme Court's 1995 Babbitt v. Sweet Home ruling upheld habitat destruction as prohibited "harm" under the same law, the reading this rule discards.
Meta-analysis finds vegetarian and vegan diets cut cancer risk in seven types
Wikimedia Commons / Legume
By the numbers
13%lower total cancer risk for vegetarians vs. non-vegetarians, across four cohort studies (RR 0.87, 95% CI 0.84-0.91) [11]
23%lower total cancer risk for vegans vs. non-vegetarians (RR 0.77, 95% CI 0.70-0.85) [11]
45%lower stomach cancer risk for vegetarians, the largest single-site reduction found (RR 0.55, 95% CI 0.36-0.86) [11]
20%lower breast cancer risk for vegans vs. non-vegetarians (RR 0.80, 95% CI 0.64-1.00) [11]
Solid"Vegetarian diets compared to non-vegetarian diets are associated with reduced risk of total cancer and seven specific cancer types, while vegan diets are associated with reduced risk of total and breast cancer." (study authors) [11]. A peer-reviewed meta-analysis of prospective studies whose authors grade the vegan-specific findings only "limited-suggestive" by WCRF criteria, more cautious than the "probable" rating given the stronger vegetarian associations.
From(plant-based diet[tiab] OR vegan diet[tiab] OR vegans[tiab]) AND
Worth Knowing
Food & Recipes
Tempeh bacon comes together in under 20 minutes with a maple-soy marinade and packs double the protein of tofu bacon in a chewier, nuttier bite [79].
130 workers at a Pilgrim's Pride plant in Northern Ireland set two more weeks of strikes from August 17 over pay and unequal breaks, after the JBS-owned company posted £128.4m in after-tax profit [74].
Innovation
Whole MALK launched a gum- and oil-free plant milk with 12g of protein per serving at Whole Foods, Target and Sprouts nationwide today [102].
Spanish researchers screened 27 yeast strains and found 10 held up to 69% protein by dry weight, matching or beating plant proteins on the water- and oil-binding that determine meat-analog texture [99].
Scoular is adding a second soybean-dehulling line in Ohio for rising plant milk demand, even as Danone shutters its 25-year-old Silk and So Delicious plant in New Jersey, cutting 114 jobs [96].
An Adelaide University study of nearly 1,000 Australians found meat-eaters' distrust of plant-based meat barely shifts no matter how it's marketed, though rational messaging did move vegetarians [97].
Research & Nutrition
A Newcastle University trial found a daily glass of fruit juice, alongside whole produce, lowered depression scores in adults who started out eating too little fruit and veg [41].
Wins & Culture
A University of Winchester review of 31 studies found vegan and vegetarian pet food is well-digested by dogs and cats, comparable to meat-based diets but with a smaller environmental footprint [146].
Vegan Camp Out's 10th-anniversary UK festival lines up 45 food vendors, 20 new this year, for its August 14-17 run [147].
Law & Policy
US dairy farms are on pace to fall below 20,000 by decade's end, down from over 120,000 in 1992, even as total milk output rose 54% on far fewer cows [142].
Activism & Animals
A UC San Diego and University of Freiburg trial found one month on a vegan diet lowered inflammation markers and slowed two epigenetic aging clocks compared to a meat-rich diet [116].
One Good Thing
PETA's new silicone Kind Piglet is headed to classrooms in time for the new school year, giving biology teachers a cruelty-free stand-in for the roughly 500,000 fetal pigs cut open in US dissections every year. PETA president Tracy Reiman refused to dissect one as a student and was forced to watch instead; the model she built skips the formaldehyde, the scalpel, and the pig, with color-coded organs any kid can learn from [114].
Garlicky, buttery, and ready in just 25 minutes, this vegan lemon pasta comes together with just a handful of simple ingredients. Fresh lemon juice and zest create a light, silky…
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