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Romulus. Remus. Khaleesi. No, this isn’t the start of a Game of Thrones reboot - it’s the names given to three genetically modified puppies born in a lab and hailed as “de-extincted” dire wolves. Headlines call it “magic.” Scientists call it “progress.” <a data-mce-href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/dire-wolves-extinction-george-rr-martin-b2729549.html" href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/dire-wolves-extinction-george-rr-martin-b2729549.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">George R.R. Martin cried</a>. But the real tragedy here isn’t the tearful joy of a fantasy author - it’s the quiet, unchallenged exploitation behind this biotech vanity project.Because let’s be honest: these aren’t dire wolves. They’re designer dogs.Despite the hype, what Colossal Biosciences has produced is not a return from extinction, but a Frankenstein hybrid made using grey wolves, domestic dogs, and a pinch of ancient DNA. Even the <a data-mce-href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g9ejy3gdvo" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g9ejy3gdvo" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">experts are saying it:</a> “genetically modified grey wolves,” “hybrids,” “not actually dire wolves.” But let’s say they were - would that make it any better? Fiction Dressed as ScienceThe whole spectacle is dressed in nostalgia and pop culture references. Dire wolves are trendy thanks to television. Their supposed rebirth makes for a good headline. Add a celebrity investor and a private 2,000-acre preserve and it all starts to feel more like Jurassic Park meets Silicon Valley than science in service of the planet.But beneath the PR gloss, animals are being treated as nothing more than raw material. Cells taken from grey wolves. Eggs from dogs. Surrogates implanted with edited embryos and forced to give birth by caesarean section - just to produce something that looks a bit like a creature that disappeared 10,000 years ago.That’s not conservation. That’s exploitation. The Illusion of EmancipationThis isn’t about saving species. It’s not about ecological restoration. And it certainly isn’t about respecting animals. It's about power - over life, death, and genetics. It's about humans playing god, then applauding themselves for it.These puppies weren’t born free. They were made. Designed. Owned. Destined to spend their lives on a private facility, monitored and managed like bio-tech exhibits. They aren’t ambassadors for nature - they're billboards for a billion-dollar company.The irony? Dire wolves once roamed freely, powerful and wild. Now their "successors" are laboratory products with brand consultants and cultural advisers. Consent? Never Heard of It.Every step of this process is soaked in supremacism. No animal volunteered to be harvested, dissected, genetically rewritten or used as a surrogate. No dog signed up to carry cloned embryos. And the resulting wolves? Created for human fascination, not for their own sake.They are not ends in themselves. They are means to a marketing campaign. Extinction Isn’t a Glitch to PatchScientists admit the ancient DNA was too degraded to clone. So they tweaked a living genome until it looked “close enough.” Just 20 edits to 14 genes out of 19,000. That's all it took to create a wolf that’s a little bigger, a little whiter, and conveniently more telegenic.But calling this “de-extinction” is like gluing feathers on a lizard and calling it a phoenix.Extinction is not a challenge to reverse - it’s a warning. A symptom of exploitation, habitat destruction, and indifference. If your response to extinction is to recreate the victim in a lab while continuing business as usual, you haven’t solved the problem. You’ve monetised it. What About the Animals Still Here?While the world gawks at faux-dinosaurs in fur coats, real species are being pushed to the edge - and beyond. Forests are vanishing. Oceans are dying. Billions of animals are used, discarded, and erased every year. But apparently, they’re not exciting enough. Not mythical enough. Not marketable enough.Conservation isn’t camera-friendly. But cloning? That gets headlines. That gets investment.Colossal has already made moves to clone red wolves, allegedly to “increase genetic diversity.” Sounds noble, until you remember that red wolves exist right now - and their biggest threat isn’t their genetics. It’s bullets, bulldozers, and bureaucrats.No gene-editing kit will fix that. Romanticising ControlWhen people cry over lab-created wolves and call it “magic,” what they’re really celebrating is control. The power to recreate life. The thrill of resurrection. It flatters the human ego: we’re not just part of nature - we can rewrite it.But justice for animals isn’t found in gene sequences and staged photo ops. It’s found in rejecting their use entirely. It’s found in recognising that they’re not ours to own, breed, edit, or replicate. Not when they’re alive, and certainly not when they’re gone. The Future Isn’t a Zoo of the PastThis obsession with “bringing back” extinct animals is a distraction. It encourages a mindset where nothing is truly lost, where destruction is temporary and consequences can be reversed with enough money and tech.It's a lie.And worse - it normalises the very mindset that caused the extinction in the first place: that animals are resources. That we can fix ecological collapse without addressing the industries and ideologies responsible for it.You want to honour dire wolves? Stop making replicas. Stop using animals as experiments. And start protecting the beings we’re still lucky enough to share the planet with - while they’re still here.Because extinction is forever. And no amount of genetic tinkering will change that.

Game of Clones: The Fantasy of De-Extinction

<a data-mce-href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ap-lt-mexico-bird-flu_n_67f57cc3e4b07ae5c64b2566" href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ap-lt-mexico-bird-flu_n_67f57cc3e4b07ae5c64b2566" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A 3-year-old girl is dead.</a>Her cause of death: bird flu.&nbsp;The first confirmed human case in Mexico, she died after being hospitalised with respiratory complications.&nbsp;&nbsp;No one knows exactly how she caught it. Investigators are swabbing wild birds near her home. But here’s what we do know: this virus is no longer just “bird flu.”&nbsp;&nbsp;It’s been found in <a data-mce-href="https://ko-fi.com/post/Bird-Flu-Confirmed-In-Nevada-P5P81AG1BS" href="https://ko-fi.com/post/Bird-Flu-Confirmed-In-Nevada-P5P81AG1BS" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cows</a> used for dairy. It’s been found in <a data-mce-href="https://ko-fi.com/post/Feeding-Cats-Raw-Meat-You-Might-Be-Feeding-Them-B-W7W01BKDWN" href="https://ko-fi.com/post/Feeding-Cats-Raw-Meat-You-Might-Be-Feeding-Them-B-W7W01BKDWN" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cats</a>. It’s been found in <a data-mce-href="https://ko-fi.com/post/Bird-Flu-Infects-Sheep-Another-Animal-Agriculture-N4N71CG1G3" href="https://ko-fi.com/post/Bird-Flu-Infects-Sheep-Another-Animal-Agriculture-N4N71CG1G3" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">sheep</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;And now it’s killed a human child.&nbsp;Still think animal agriculture is just about personal choice? From Barnyards to BedroomsJust last month in the UK, a sheep in Yorkshire was killed after testing positive for H5N1. The infection was discovered not through symptoms, but in her milk. A sheep. With bird flu.&nbsp;&nbsp;She was kept at a site already hit by an outbreak among captive birds. This isn’t an isolated case.&nbsp;&nbsp;In the US, cats have been infected by drinking raw milk from cows with H5N1. Others were fed raw chicken from Wild Coast Pet Foods and later euthanised.&nbsp;&nbsp;We’re now seeing nearly 100 infected cats in the US alone, many showing horrific symptoms: blindness, seizures, laboured breathing, death.&nbsp;&nbsp;Farm workers are catching it. One UK worker was infected in January. A Canadian teen contracted it without ever touching an animal.&nbsp;&nbsp;And now a toddler is dead.&nbsp;&nbsp; Factory Farms: Disease VectorsWhen you pack sick animals together in industrial sheds, you create a playground for mutation. You can slap on a “high welfare” sticker, but the virus doesn’t care.&nbsp;&nbsp;Animal agriculture has always been a biohazard.&nbsp;&nbsp;Now it’s a public health emergency.&nbsp;&nbsp;And still we cling to the lie that flesh is good for us, farming is fine, that feeding cats chicken is noble while feeding them nutritionally complete plantbased food is abuse.&nbsp;&nbsp;That’s not concern for animals. That’s indoctrination. Let’s Be Clear- Feeding cats infected flesh is not “natural.”&nbsp;&nbsp;- Letting cows, sheep, and birds become disease vectors is not “necessary.”&nbsp;&nbsp;- A child dying from bird flu is not “personal choice.”&nbsp;&nbsp; The exploitation of animals puts everyone at risk - companion animals, farm workers, children.It’s time to reject the systems that created this mess. And that means rethinking what we eat, what we fund, and who we choose to protect.

From Farm to Family: Bird Flu Kills a Child

Low angle view of Horse Racing - Steeplechase

Another Grand National. Another dead horse.&nbsp;&nbsp;This year it was Celebre D’Allen - a 13-year-old who led the field with three fences to go, before his body gave out, his lungs gave in, and he collapsed. He was walked off the track by vets, spent the night under observation, and then quietly died.&nbsp;&nbsp;Cue the press release parade.&nbsp;&nbsp;“He received the very best treatment.”&nbsp;&nbsp;“He was much-loved.”&nbsp;&nbsp;“He was a wonderful horse.”&nbsp;&nbsp;He’s now a corpse.&nbsp;&nbsp;Let’s be clear: this wasn’t an accident. It was inevitable.Celebre D’Allen “had no more to give.” That’s not a metaphor. He literally had nothing left, and they made him keep going. His jockey was banned for 10 days - not for riding in a race that kills horses, but for not hiding it better.&nbsp;&nbsp;This is how the industry works. They push animals to exhaustion and beyond. Then they tell us how “gutted” they are when those animals die. And the public? They shrug and place their bets for next year.&nbsp;&nbsp;This isn’t sport. It’s slaughter in slow motion.The racing industry loves the language of care. “Best possible treatment.” “Loved member of the team.” “Thorough vet checks.” All designed to give the illusion of concern while masking the reality: horses are property. Tools. Disposable assets in a game of risk and return.&nbsp;&nbsp;The British Horseracing Authority says Celebre D’Allen passed multiple checks to ensure he was “fit to race.” Maybe he was fit - until they ran him to death.&nbsp;&nbsp;What kind of system proudly boasts about all the safety checks that didn’t stop an animal from dying?&nbsp;&nbsp;What happened to Celebre D’Allen wasn’t a fluke. It was the cost of doing business.The Grand National isn’t some harmless tradition - it’s an endurance gauntlet designed to break bodies. Every year, horses fall. Every year, some don’t get back up.&nbsp;&nbsp;Then come the headlines. The tributes. The noise. And then the silence. Until next year.&nbsp;&nbsp;If a horse collapses and dies, but the betting slips pay out - did anyone even notice?This is how moral anaesthesia works. Drown the death in euphemisms. Dress up exploitation in ceremony. Talk about love while profiting from someone’s destruction.&nbsp;&nbsp;And if anyone dares to challenge it? Cue the outrage. “Horses love to run!” “They’re bred for it!” “They’re treated like kings!”&nbsp;&nbsp;Really? Kings aren’t whipped for slowing down. Kings aren’t banned from retiring. Kings don’t die mid-race and get replaced by the next disposable body.&nbsp;&nbsp;Celebre D’Allen didn’t die doing what he loved. He died because people loved what he did.&nbsp;&nbsp;This is animal use, plain and simple.Horses don’t race themselves. They don’t line up at the starting gate for fun. They are broken, trained, controlled, and pushed. They don’t sign contracts. They don’t opt in.&nbsp;&nbsp;And when they collapse, people mourn the loss of a good horse - not the injustice of the system that killed him.&nbsp;&nbsp;Because that’s the real trick. We don’t talk about responsibility. We talk about misfortune.&nbsp;&nbsp;We don’t ask whether the Grand National should exist. We ask who’s tipped to win next year.&nbsp;&nbsp;This isn’t grief. It’s gaslighting.The racing industry talks about “improving safety.” But safety for whom? Certainly not for the horses who never make it home.&nbsp;&nbsp;They say they’ve made progress. But if the goal is to stop horses dying, and horses are still dying, then what kind of “progress” is that?&nbsp;&nbsp;No one is entitled to someone else’s life for entertainment. Not if it’s dressed up as tradition. Not if it’s televised. Not if there’s a trophy at the end.&nbsp;&nbsp;Horse racing needs to end - not be reformed, not made ‘kinder’, but abolished.Because until it does, horses like Celebre D’Allen will keep collapsing. Vets will keep trying. Stables will keep posting tributes. And bodies will keep piling up behind the curtain of the “sport of kings.”&nbsp;&nbsp;And people will keep calling it sad. Instead of calling it what it is. Unjust. Deliberate. And deadly.Want to stop this? Stop funding it. Stop betting. Stop watching. Speak up. Demand abolition. Because Celebre D’Allen didn’t need better luck - he needed freedom.<figure id="figure-v6yvynrhpkm993glpc"><img id="v6yvynrhpkm993glpc" src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/77EiN98an2Rut0YrSXsIy2an1cXQE8YdIKAkxAO2wKPuqKnGEDlHahQ83uX2DnES.png" alt="" title="" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 rounded-sm md:rounded-md lg:rounded-lg" style="aspect-ratio: 1/1; object-position: undefined undefined;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="1:1" data-caption="" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="undefined" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/77EiN98an2Rut0YrSXsIy2an1cXQE8YdIKAkxAO2wKPuqKnGEDlHahQ83uX2DnES.png" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 1/1; object-position: undefined undefined;"></figure>

Celebre D’Allen Died So You Could Place a Bet

We're hurtling through the <a data-mce-href="https://unfccc.int/news/new-un-climate-change-report-shows-national-climate-plans-fall-miles-short-of-what-s-needed" href="https://unfccc.int/news/new-un-climate-change-report-shows-national-climate-plans-fall-miles-short-of-what-s-needed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sixth mass extinction.</a> Climate plans are failing. And while headlines obsess over fuel and fashion, the conversation rarely lands where it needs to: the food bowl of your companion animal.You can’t claim to care about the planet and ignore what’s in your companions bowl. In countries like the US, dogs and cats consume at least 20% of all farmed land animals. <a data-mce-href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0291791" href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0291791" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yes, 20%.</a> The environmental footprint of pet food is massive and growing, but still somehow missing from climate discourse. That’s not just an oversight - it’s a scandal.Pet food isn’t just a side dish to the climate crisis. It’s a main course. The Real Cost of Meat-Based Pet FoodAnimal agriculture is one of the biggest drivers of greenhouse gas emissions. It’s responsible for at least 20% of global emissions - <a data-mce-href="https://herbivore.club/blog/fossil-fuels-are-bad--animal-agriculture-is-worse" href="https://herbivore.club/blog/fossil-fuels-are-bad--animal-agriculture-is-worse">some say far more</a>. And it’s not just humans fueling this: our companion animals are heavily implicated too.Dogs and cats now number <a data-mce-href="https://globalpetindustry.com/news/global-pet-population-at-1-billion-cats-lead-the-way/" href="https://globalpetindustry.com/news/global-pet-population-at-1-billion-cats-lead-the-way/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">around 1 billion</a> globally, and their food isn’t made from thin air. In fact, flesh-based pet food in the US alone is responsible for <a data-mce-href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0181301" href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0181301" target="_blank" rel="noopener">25-30%</a> of the environmental impacts of domestic livestock production. That's not a fringe issue. That’s a full-blown climate liability.And the problem isn’t going away. As incomes rise, birth rates fall, and the pet industry booms, we’re set to see an explosion in companion populations - along with the emissions, land use, and resource depletion that come with it. The Byproduct Myth“But it’s just byproducts!” you’ll hear. As if that’s supposed to make it okay.This myth assumes animals are being killed for humans, and pets are just scavenging the leftovers. That’s not how the industry works. Byproducts are sold. They make up a huge chunk of slaughterhouse profits - <a data-mce-href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13197-011-0290-7" href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13197-011-0290-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over 11% for cow flesh, and 7.5% for pig flesh</a>. Without pet food and other sectors buying these carcass scraps, the slaughter industry wouldn’t be nearly as lucrative.Feeding pets byproducts often requires more dead animals, not fewer. Because byproducts make up less than half the carcass, you need more animals to feed the same number of pets. It’s not waste. It’s business. It's exploitation. Pet Food is Propping Up the Slaughter IndustryThe pet food industry is keeping factory farms afloat. It’s not reducing waste. It’s helping fund the slaughter of animals by the billions - many just to be minced, dried, and packed into a foil bag for your spaniel.And don’t think cats and dogs are just a small cog in this system. Globally, they’re responsible for consuming a number of animals that would make even the most committed carnivore blush. The environmental impacts of feeding one large dog meat-based food? <a data-mce-href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1470160X18304552?via%3Dihub" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1470160X18304552?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Higher than the average Japanese person’s entire carbon footprint</a>.This isn’t just unsustainable. It’s absurd. Vegan Pet Food: The Tipping PointNow here’s the good news. We can change this - radically and fast.Nutritionally complete plantbased pet foods already exist. Dogs thrive on them. Cats can, too, with properly formulated diets containing all the essentials like taurine. The British Veterinary Association has finally dropped its unscientific opposition to vegan dog food. And multiple studies confirm what guardians have known for years: well-planned plantbased diets for dogs and cats are safe, effective, and in many cases healthier.And the environmental benefits? Huge. Transitioning the world’s dogs to plantbased diets would save more emissions than the entire UK produces. It would free up enough food energy to feed 450 million people. Six billion land animals wouldn’t need to be bred, confined, and killed every year. Add cats, and that’s another billion saved. The Industry is Already ShiftingThe market knows what’s coming. Vegan pet food was worth $10.3 billion in 2024. It’s projected to nearly double by 2034. Supermarkets are stocking it. Biotech companies are creating cultivated flesh just for companions. Precision-fermented proteins are already on shelves with environmental impacts even lower than plant-based food.People are catching on. Because once you see what flesh-based pet food really is - an industrialised, animal-killing, climate-wrecking operation hiding behind cute packaging - you can’t unsee it. Still Think It’s Just a Personal Choice?Feeding your companion aanimals flesh isn't neutral. It props up an industry of slaughter. It releases enormous amounts of greenhouse gases. It competes for the same food resources that could feed millions of starving humans.And don’t pretend the answer is just “feed them less.” Overfeeding is a problem, yes — but the sheer numbers of dogs and cats worldwide, and what we feed them, are the real drivers. Portion control won’t solve systemic exploitation. So, What Needs to Happen?1. Transition dogs and cats to nutritionally complete plantbased diets. Not tomorrow - now. If you’re unsure, start by swapping 50% of their food and go from there.2. Adopt, don’t shop. Every purchased animal increases demand. Rescue is the way forward.3. Use your platform. Whether you’re a vet, influencer, or just someone with an internet connection - start talking about this.4. Support innovation. Cultivated and fermented alternatives are coming fast. Back the brands disrupting the slaughter status quo.5. Stop lying to yourself. If you recognise that animal farming is wrong, you can’t keep supporting it through your companions dinner. No More ExcusesWe have the <a data-mce-href="https://www.veterinaria.org/index.php/REDVET/article/view/92" href="https://www.veterinaria.org/index.php/REDVET/article/view/92" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">science</a>. We have the food. We have the tools. What we’re lacking is courage - and honesty.The climate is collapsing. Animals are dying. The flesh industry is clinging to survival by squeezing profit from every available channel - including your companion.You want to do the right thing? Start with what you’re pouring into that bowl.

The Pawprint Problem

Billions have been spent convincing people that they need to drink the lactation of a cow. That calcium only counts if it comes from a carton with a black-and-white mascot. That plant-based alternatives are a fad, a niche, a joke.But the numbers are in - and they’re terrifying if your business depends on mothers being forcibly impregnated so their milk can be sold to humans instead of their own babies.In Western Europe and North America, plant-based dairy just hit $11.55 billion in retail sales. That's a 12% compound annual growth rate since 2019. Consumers are shifting. Not gradually - profoundly.And let’s be clear: this isn't a health food craze. This is a mass rejection of exploitation. It’s a collective realisation that cow’s milk isn’t a miracle drink - it’s a marketing triumph built on broken biology, stolen motherhood, and shaky science. But calcium!That’s the favourite cry of every dairy apologist. Without cow’s milk, how will our bones survive? The short answer: better.Calcium is important. No one’s denying that. But the idea that cow’s milk is the only or best source is laughable. Calcium exists in the soil. Cows get it from plants. So can you.Here’s what they don’t want you to know: dark leafy greens like kale and bok choy have higher bioavailability of calcium than dairy. You absorb 35–40% of the calcium from these plants, compared to about 30% from cow’s milk. Wholemeal bread? Also around 40%. Tofu made with calcium sulphate? Another top-tier source. Fortified plant milks and yoghurts? As good as dairy, minus the suffering.Beans, almonds, chia, tahini, tempeh, oranges, cabbage - nature’s calcium buffet is wide open. No need for milk moustaches or udder secrets. Borrowed from bones?&nbsp;Your body borrows calcium from your bones when it’s not getting enough through food. That’s true. But here’s what the dairy industry skips: it also replaces that calcium constantly - if your diet includes enough of it. And enough doesn’t mean gallons of milk. It means 700mg a day for most adults in the UK. Easily met on a varied plant-based diet.Meanwhile, high calcium intake - especially from supplements - can backfire, increasing the risk of heart disease due to calcification of blood vessels. Because the body isn’t a machine. It doesn’t blindly shove minerals into bones just because you poured some white liquid over your cereal. So if it’s not about calcium… what is it about?It’s about tradition. Nostalgia. A warped idea of health that’s been drilled into us since childhood. The UK’s Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board still pushes cow’s milk in schools and universities. Why? Because if you don’t hook kids early, you lose future buyers.Never mind that lactose intolerance is common. Never mind the links between cow’s milk and prostate cancer. Never mind the constant flow of scientific reviews that show dairy makes no meaningful difference to bone health in people already getting enough calcium. The system knows it’s losing.Milk alternatives already make up 12% of the total milk market. Yoghurts and cheeses are catching up. In Finland, people spend €34 a year per person on plant-based dairy. In France? Just €5.90. Not because they love cows more - because tradition dies harder in some places than others. It is dying.58% of people in a global survey said they’re open to switching to plant-based dairy. The obstacles? Taste, availability, price. Not principle.That’s where brands like Oatly and Alpro come in - known by over 80% of consumers, they’re leading the charge by innovating, expanding, and branding with purpose. Because this isn’t just about food - it’s about freedom. The future doesn’t milk mothers.If you’re still clinging to the belief that cow’s milk is natural, necessary, or neutral, ask yourself: who benefits from that belief? Spoiler: not the cow.Plant-based dairy doesn’t rely on artificial insemination, stolen babies, or secretive slaughterhouses. It doesn’t require people to ignore the screams of animals who just want their babies back. It doesn’t pretend that milk is “humane” when its very existence depends on a mother’s loss.There’s a reason plant-based dairy is booming. It’s not just health. It’s not just the environment. It’s because people are waking up to the fact that the white stuff comes at a cost.And they’re no longer willing to pay it.

Milk Myths Are Crumbling

Elementary school student making disgusted face at cafeteria food

Let’s get one thing clear: flesh is already the default. At schools. At hospitals. At government buildings. At City Hall. And Zack Polanski - deputy leader of the UK’s Green Party - <a data-mce-href="https://plantbasednews.org/culture/politics/green-politician-plant-based-meals-default/" href="https://plantbasednews.org/culture/politics/green-politician-plant-based-meals-default/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">just suggested flipping that script</a>.He called on Sadiq Khan to introduce plant-based meals by default at City Hall. Not banning flesh. Not removing choice. Just making the animal-free option the starting point -&nbsp; just like meat is now.And Khan’s response? "We’ve got a good balance."Good balance for who, exactly?Because it’s not working for animals. It’s not working for the climate. And it’s definitely not working for the one in five children in the UK who can’t afford to eat properly. Default Isn’t Neutral - It’s PoliticalRight now, walking into a public canteen means being served flesh, milk, and eggs by default - unless you speak up and request otherwise. That system doesn’t feel political because it's the norm. But it is. Every default is a choice, and it says something.It says who matters. It says what kind of future we're planning for. It says whose interests get protected - and whose lives get overlooked.Polanski’s ask was simple: let’s make the default kind. Let’s make it just. Let’s make it plant-based. Default Shapes the WorldYou don't need to ban everything to create change. You just need to change what’s assumed. The default. The path of least resistance.Right now, the path leads to cages, slaughter, emissions, and inequality.Polanski offered another way forward. One that saves money. One that protects children. One that doesn’t rely on killing.It’s time to stop defending outdated habits as if they’re sacred. They’re not. They’re just defaults. And we can choose better ones. No One’s Taking Your Pig BapThe fear-mongering over “plant-based by default” plays out like clockwork: they’re coming for your cheese toastie. But that’s not what’s happening.Under this proposal, flesh and dairy don’t disappear. They’re just no longer assumed. If someone wants to eat animals, they still can - but they’ll have to say it out loud. They’ll have to opt in.And that small shift matters. Because normalising plant-based meals changes public perception. It tells the truth: it’s not radical to eat plants - it’s radical to keep killing when we don’t have to. Let’s Talk About the ChildrenFlesh is currently compulsory on school menus in the UK. That’s not a joke. By law, animals must be served to children in public schools - even when cheaper, healthier, and more sustainable options exist.So while kids are going hungry, while parents can’t afford fruit, while 20% of families are in food poverty, schools are legally obliged to serve flesh.Polanski pointed out that plant-based meals could save the NHS £54.9 million a year - money that could go into better produce, local growers, and meals that don’t come with a side of saturated fat and suffering.Why are we force-feeding inequality and animals to children, when there’s a better option? The Climate Crisis Isn’t Waiting“A third of human-caused emissions come from food,” Polanski reminded us. And the number one contributor? Animal agriculture.If we want serious climate action, we can’t just swap plastic straws and call it a day. We need systemic change - and food is one of the easiest places to start.A plant-based default in public institutions isn’t just symbolic. It sends a clear message: the era of endless animal use is over. The future is plant-based - and we’re building it now. The Cruelty-Free ManifestoThis isn’t some fringe fantasy. Polanski and Viva! gathered over 100 experts in food justice, sustainability, and health to draft a Cruelty-Free Manifesto for London. Among its recommendations:- Make public catering plant-based by default- Adopt a cruelty-free supply chain- Promote plant-based living through education and campaigns- Fund local food growing initiatives- Work with London’s vegan health professionalsThis isn’t about restriction - it’s about liberation. From climate destruction. From corporate welfare. From a food system that treats animals as units and children as afterthoughts. Khan’s Missed OpportunityFaced with this practical, evidence-based proposal, Khan defaulted to - well - the default.Choice, he said. Balance, he said. But the current system isn’t balanced. It’s skewed. It protects the status quo at all costs, even when that status quo involves killing sentient beings and underfeeding schoolchildren.This was a chance to lead. To prove London takes climate justice, food inequality, and compassion seriously. Instead, he shrugged it off. What’s Actually Radical?Serving corpses to schoolchildren like it's normal.Serving cows’ milk out of every public coffee machine like we don’t already have better options.Funding the industries most responsible for environmental breakdown with public money, while pretending it’s about “choice.”Plant-based by default isn’t radical - it’s overdue.

Herbivore Club

ARTICLES

Game of Clones: The Fantasy of De-Extinction

From Farm to Family: Bird Flu Kills a Child

Celebre D’Allen Died So You Could Place a Bet

The Pawprint Problem

Milk Myths Are Crumbling

Serving Animals by Default Is a Political Choice