New York City's Council votes October 22 on a ban on horse-drawn carriages from June 2028, and a veto-proof majority is expected [143].
02
The WHO's Asia-Pacific environment and health centre will write a report on plant-based and cultivated meat, funded through a partnership with GFI APAC [84].
03
Canada slaughtered a record 882 million land animals in 2025, driven by 22 million more chickens than in 2024 [123].
04
A Dutch think tank launched a novel-food sandbox for up to 10 startups after the EU Commission proposed excluding novel foods from its own [79].
05
Bowel and ovarian cancer rose among English adults under 50 but not older ones, and apart from body weight, known behavioural risks did not explain the rise [28].
The Stories: the day’s biggest developments, in the sources’ own words
01▲Activism & AnimalsStory
New York City moves to ban horse-drawn carriages from June 2028
Photo: plant based news
New York City is expected to ban horse-drawn carriages from June 2028, with Council Speaker Julie Menin, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Central Park Conservancy behind it [143]. The bill, known as Romanch's Law, follows the death of an 18-year-old tourist who fell from a carriage in Central Park [143]. It includes career support for drivers and requires the industry's horses to be rehomed humanely [143].
“The horse carriage industry is coming to an end in New York City.”
June 2028is when the ban is expected to take effect [143]
October 22is the scheduled Council vote, with a veto-proof majority expected [143]
WatchThe City Council votes on the bill October 22 [143].
FromPlant Based News
02▲Law & PolicyStory
WHO regional centre signs multi-year deal to report on plant-based and cultivated meat
Photo: vegconomist
The WHO's Asia-Pacific Centre for Environment and Health will produce a dedicated report on the role of plant-based and cultivated meat in food systems, under a multi-year partnership with GFI APAC signed in Seoul [84]. The agreement earmarks funding for two WHO technical staff and an outside academic researcher, all based in South Korea [84]. The antibiotic-resistance and zoonosis case for alternative proteins is GFI APAC's own framing of the partnership, not a WHO finding [84].
By the numbers
2WHO technical staff funded by the agreement, plus an external academic researcher [84]
10 milliondeaths a year by 2050 from drug-resistant infections, a UN estimate GFI APAC cites for the case [84]
Dutch think tank opens an EU novel-food sandbox with no regulators in it
Photo: green queen
The Ministry of Future Affairs, a Netherlands-based think tank, launched New Foods RegLab for up to 10 companies planning novel-food approvals such as cultivated meat and precision-fermented proteins [79][129]. It follows the European Commission's proposal to exclude novel foods from the Biotech Act's regulatory sandboxes [79][129]. RegLab has no regulator participation and eases no rules; its anonymised findings go to EFSA and the Commission to shape pre-submission advice [129][79].
“The EU wants to introduce a much broader pre-submission advice for novel food applicants. However, this would only help one applicant at a time”
Anna Handschuh, founder and managing director, Ministry of Future Affairs · [79]
By the numbers
30 monthsis the average real-world EU novel-food authorisation time, against a statutory 18 to 24 months [79]
10startups will take part in two days with regulatory experts [79]
WatchThe sandbox runs 19 and 20 January 2027, and applications are open now [129].
Canada killed a record 882 million land animals in 2025
Photo: animal justice
Animal Justice's analysis of government slaughter statistics counts 882,351,493 land animals killed in Canada in 2025, nearly 19 million more than in 2024 [123]. Chickens drove the rise: over 834 million were killed, up 22 million, while slaughter of cows, sheep, ducks and geese all fell [123]. Animal Justice, an advocacy group, estimates that official counts also leave out more than 8 billion aquatic animals a year [123].
By the numbers
882,351,493land animals slaughtered in 2025, against 750 million in 2015 [123]
28animals killed every second across the year, by Animal Justice's arithmetic [123]
20 millionnewborn male chicks killed at hatcheries yearly, outside the official count [123]
FromAnimal Justice
Worth Knowing
Food & Recipes
Plate pick: butternut squash and chickpea salad with dukkah, from the Vegan Everything cookbook, puts roasted squash and chickpeas over couscous with a home-toasted nut and spice mix and a lemon dressing [56].
Soda Club, a New York vegan restaurant, has opened in Denver, where HappyCow lists nearly 300 vegan-friendly restaurants, nine entirely vegan or vegetarian [54].
Innovation
UK supplement brand DR.VEGAN dropped "vegan" from its name to become DRV+ after research found only 13% of its buyers identify as vegan, though every formulation stays 100% vegan [82].
Mycofeast bought New Zealand precision-fermentation startup Daisy Lab, one of more than 90 alt-protein companies to merge, be acquired, go bankrupt or close since September 2024 [80].
Activism & Animals
CITES said it "cannot confirm or rule out the occurrence of fraud or corruption" in Cambodia's long-tailed macaque trade, a year after setting reforms, ahead of its November 2 to 6 Standing Committee meeting [90].
Law & Policy
Eurogroup for Animals and World Animal Protection found that 25% of EU chicken breast is imported, with four countries supplying 88% of it, and want revised EU chicken welfare rules to cover imports [121].
One Good Thing
In 1988, a sophomore at Yale named Bellamy Young got to the front of the dining-hall line, ordered the baked chicken breast, and watched it land on the plate underside up, looking like her mother's Chihuahua mix rolling over for a tummy rub [59]. She stopped eating animals on the spot. "I never looked back," she says, and at 55 she calls herself the healthiest she has been [59]. Some conversions take a decade of documentaries; hers took one plate.
This easy vegan cream of mushroom soup is rich, savory, and packed with mushroom flavor, plus 14g protein per serving! Made with simple ingredients and ready in just 30 minutes…
30 min3 servings15 ingredients
See the ingredients
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (divided. Or broth fry for oil-free.)
16 ounces mushrooms
1 1/2 cups chopped white onion
5 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
1/4 cup sherry (or red wine, see notes for wine substitutes)
vegconomist the vegan business magazine
Animal Justice