Voters in Washington, DC and Denver passed foie gras sales bans, with 73% and 66% support, and farm-animal-law foes lost their Senate and House races [91].
02
The European Commission's 2027 Work Programme never mentions the hen, broiler and pig welfare proposals it scheduled in July [76].
03
BMC Ingredients says it will start commercial-scale mycelium production in India in Q2 2027, while other mycoprotein firms retrench [53].
04
A modelling study found that swapping dairy for plant alternatives at current UK fortification levels raises iodine inadequacy, and the fix is fortification, not dairy [107].
05
Six trials linked vegetarian and vegan diets to lower total and LDL cholesterol in people with cardiovascular disease, with no benefit for blood pressure [28].
06
COP31 in Antalya has set a 60% meat-free catering target and a fully plant-based café [70].
DC and Denver voters ban foie gras; Colorado rejects a hunting-methods amendment
Photo: future perfect
Voters in Washington, DC and Denver passed measures banning the sale of foie gras, which is made by force-feeding ducks, adding to existing sales bans in California, Pittsburgh, New York City and Portland, Oregon [91]. Colorado voters also rejected Amendment 83, which opponents said could have reopened poisoning and leg-hold traps [91]. Sen. Roger Marshall and Rep. Ashley Hinson, who sponsored bills to overturn state farm animal welfare laws, lost their races, and Iowa's Chris Jones, who ran on cleaning up livestock pollution, lost narrowly [91].
“Tonight DC decided that force-feeding a bird has no place here”
Cady Witt, Pro-Animal DC, which put the measure on the ballot · [91]
“Read plainly, traditional methods could be interpreted to include practices like poisoning, leg hold traps, gill nets, or baiting and hounding”
Niemiec, co-director of Colorado State University's Animal-Human Policy Center · [91]
By the numbers
73 percentof DC voters backed the foie gras ban [91]
European Commission's 2027 work plan omits the promised hen, broiler and pig welfare proposals
Photo: vegconomist
The Commission's Work Programme for 2027, published November 4, makes no reference to the welfare proposals for laying hens, broiler chickens and pigs that its July Livestock Strategy had scheduled, according to the European Institute for Animal Law & Policy [76]. The institute says the poultry proposal may be absent because it is still due in December, but it has no such explanation for the pig proposal, which was set for the second quarter of 2027 [76]. The package is what remains of a full welfare-law revision announced in 2020, and the Commission missed its own 2023 deadline to propose a cage ban [76].
“the absence of even a mention of the animal welfare proposals does not mean they are certainly not going to be published”
Gabriela Kubíková, Legislative Advocacy Manager, European Institute for Animal Law & Policy · [76]
“We're still treading water, despite the clear scientific findings of EFSA and the Commission's own fitness check in 2022”
Gabriela Kubíková, Legislative Advocacy Manager, European Institute for Animal Law & Policy · [76]
By the numbers
1.4 millionverified signatures backed the End the Cage Age citizens' initiative [76]
89%of respondents in a September Eurobarometer survey said agricultural imports should only enter the EU if they meet EU environmental, animal welfare and labour standards [76]
WatchThe institute says the poultry proposal may still come in December; the pig rules were set for the second quarter of 2027 [76].
BMC Ingredients plans commercial mycelium production in India as rivals retrench
Photo: AgFunderNews
The Better Meat Co, now doing business as BMC Ingredients, says it expects to begin commercial-scale production of its mycelium ingredients with a partner in India in Q2 2027, after three 100,000-liter fermentation runs and a first seven-figure supply contract [53]. It has widened from meat blends to powdered mycelium for protein bars and shakes, and its CEO Paul Shapiro says the contract is for the powder, as manufacturers look for alternatives to costly whey [53]. Meati imploded last year, Nature's Fynd is phasing out its consumer brand, and ENOUGH Food has been reviewing a possible sale, so BMC's asset-light model is an outlier by survival [53].
“Nobody has ever fermented Neurospora crassa in that large of a vessel before.”
Paul Shapiro, cofounder and CEO, BMC Ingredients · [53]
By the numbers
3fermentation runs at 100,000 liters each, completed [53]
51gof protein per 100g of dry Rhiza Pro powder [53]
20-33%inclusion in ground meat for Rhiza Tex, which Shapiro claims, against 10-15% for soy-based TVP [53]
WatchCommercial-scale production with the Indian partner is targeted for Q2 2027 [53].
Dairy-swap modelling study raises iodine alarms; plant-milk fortification is the fix
Photo: foodnavigator
Researchers at the University of Surrey and Queen's University Belfast modelled National Diet and Nutrition Survey data from over 3,500 people and found that replacing dairy with plant alternatives at current fortification levels raised iodine inadequacy, most among adolescent girls and women [107]. The study modelled swaps; it did not measure deficiency in vegans. The Vegan Society says the coverage was misleading because the products modelled were unfortified or partly fortified, and it backs mandatory fortification [118]. The authors say pairing mandatory plant-milk fortification with iodine-fortified bread works best [107].
“Nutrition policy must evolve in tandem with environmental targets however it is important that shifts towards more sustainable diets do not compromise on public health.”
“The Vegan Society would never recommend that vegans consume unfortified plant milks.”
Emily Angus RD, Senior Dietitian, The Vegan Society · [118]
By the numbers
54% to 65%is the modelled rise in iodine inadequacy among adolescent females when 20% to 35% of dairy is replaced at current fortification levels [107]
32% to 42%is the same rise among women aged 19-49 [107]
48 per centof non-organic UK plant milks had added iodine by 2024, up from eight per cent in 2015 [93]
FromFoodNavigator.comThe Vegan Society - One world. Many lives. Our choice.Viva! The Vegan Charity
Worth Knowing
Food & Recipes
Juicy Marbles' turkey-style Granny's Roast, made from soy and pea protein with 19 grams of protein per 100 grams, costs $29.99 in the US and €19.99 in 21 EU states; it sold out in the US within days, with a restock expected next month [50].
Mondelez has asked vegan chocolate maker Moo Free to pull its White Choccy Snowballs over Cadbury Snowballs; it says no legal action has been taken [39].
Four of the five drinks on Peet's new holiday menu are vegan or can be ordered dairy-free, and the chain no longer charges extra for oat, almond or soy milk [43].
Innovation
A blind taste test of 700 meat-eaters in Bangalore and Mumbai found 60% liked the average plant-based meat or egg product, against 78% for conventional versions [72].
Flora Food Group, maker of Violife, completed the $150.5M sale of its Latin American business to Alicorp, while its owner KKR explores selling the international business [71].
Activism & Animals
A legal coalition filed 14 money-laundering complaints on November 5 against JBS and 12 financial institutions over profits it ties to illegal Amazon deforestation; JBS says it has not received the data behind the claims [83].
One Good Thing
A juvenile orangutan seized from a Mumbai apartment in 2024 is back in Indonesia after two years of health and paperwork delays, the first successful repatriation of a seized CITES animal from India [77]. He is now at the Sumatra Rescue Alliance facility, where he will go to forest school to learn survival skills, with a wild release possible in about four years [77]. Five infant orangutans found in Odisha in September are next, and an Indonesian expert team is preparing to visit them [77].
Future Perfect | Vox
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