Denmark ends mink fur farming; UK moves against pig gassing

Denmark drops EU exemption bid and will end mink fur farming for good

Denmark has confirmed that mink fur farming will end permanently, after its new coalition government abandoned a plan to seek an exemption from the EU-wide prohibition on keeping the species [51]. The legislative ban takes effect on 7th August next year, with all remaining operations phased out by August 2029 [51]. The coalition took office after June's national elections and reviewed the policy [51].

• Sevenfarms and around 15,000 mink remain in Denmark today [51]
• 14 million Danish kroneis the coalition's estimate of state compensation, though final costs may rise [51]
• 15 millionanimals were culled when a mutated virus strain hit the sector during the pandemic [51]

FromVegan Food & Living

UK opens consultation to phase out CO2 gassing of pigs at slaughter

The UK government launched a public consultation on phasing out high-concentration carbon dioxide stunning, proposing argon gas or automated electrical stunning instead [41]. It cites independent evidence of "panic and breathing difficulties" in pigs gassed with CO2, and the Animal Welfare Committee backs the move [41]. The government also wants less reliance on CO2 supplies, which can be hit by international events [41].

FromJust Food

Opalia sells first batch of cell-based whole milk to Dutch investor Hoogwegt

Montreal's Opalia is selling the first production material of its cell-based whole milk to Hoogwegt, the Dutch dairy ingredients company that also invests in it; the two call it the first purchase of whole milk made from bovine mammary cells anywhere [72]. The process is validated only at laboratory scale, and Hoogwegt will test the milk in fresh cheese, yoghurt and butter [72]. Hoogwegt says the price reflects the cost of making the batch, not a margin [67].

• 28 litres a dayis the planned output of Opalia's modular bioreactor, which the company equates to one cow [72]
• CAD $3.2 millionseed round closed this year to build it [72]
• $2 per litreis the unit price CEO Jennifer Côté says Opalia intends to reach [67]

FromGreen Queenvegconomist the vegan business magazine

Randomized trial finds plant ALA supplies a large share of vegans' DHA

The DRI-DHA trial gave 72 vegans and non-seafood-eating vegetarians between 0 and 1,000 mg a day of algal DHA for eight weeks, then used carbon isotopes to trace where their plasma DHA came from [36]. DHA dose-dependently raised circulating DHA and EPA, consistent with DHA blocking its own synthesis [36]. It is a medRxiv preprint, and several authors disclose ties to plant-oil suppliers [36].

• 132 mg/dof algal DHA was the dose at which plasma DHA was equally supplement-derived and ALA-derived [36]
• 264 mg/dis the net DHA-equivalent supply the authors say that implies [36]
• 251 mg/dis the maximal ALA-derived contribution without dietary DHA [36]

Frommedrxiv Subject Collection: Nutrition