FILE – A Namibian Cape fur seal pup is pictured at a seal reserve 430 kilometers west of Windhoek. Namibia’s Ministry of Fisheries has issued a quota for the harvesting of 80,000 pups and 6,000 bulls in the harvesting season that begins July 1, 2023.
Share
Print
WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA —
This year’s Cape fur seal culling along Namibia’s coastline is set to begin July 1 – a harvest that’s done onshore for population control.
The seal population, according to the country’s Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, stands at 1.6 million and is made up of 26 colonies. The ministry has issued a quota for the harvesting of 80,000 pups and 6,000 bulls this year.
The annual harvest is usually met with controversy because of the methods used in the culling of seals. Pups are clubbed over the head, while the bigger bulls are shot with rifles.
The culling method has raised ethical concerns among environmentalists, but authorities say the population must be thinned to maintain fish stocks in the ocean. Seals are estimated to consume 2 million tons of fish per year.
Environmental advocate Dirk Heinrich told VOA that the seals are not to blame for the depletion of the fish stocks. Overfishing in Namibian waters for profit is the cause, he said.
“It seems that some people lose some money, and then the best culprit is another animal, and then we kill that animal and make it less and try to make money out of it,” he said. “In that way, we actually destroy our whole ecosystem.
“We should rather look at us, the humans. Are we concerned, especially we Namibians, are we concerned about conservation and the natural or sustainable utilization of natural resources, or are we looking at dollars only?”
Seal products
Fisheries Ministry spokesperson Uaripi Katjiukua told VOA the seals feed mostly on noncommercial fish stocks, such as gobies. She also explained what is done with the culled seals.
“The seal products include the skin, the meal, oil, and dry genitals meat,” she said. “These products are demanded both in the local and international markets.”
The seal harvesting is overseen by Ministry of Environment officials alongside those of the Fisheries Ministry. Romeo Muyunda, spokesperson for the Environment Ministry, said, “If you let that [seal] population grow, then indeed it is that population that is going to consume commercial amounts [of fish], and we don’t want it to get to that level.” The population needs to be maintained at a level that the ecosystem can support, he said.
Twenty-seven countries worldwide, including the U.S., Mexico and South Africa, have banned imports of all seal products. In 2019, the European Union banned all imports of seal products, citing animal welfare and the culling methods.
Namibian seal products are exported mainly to Asian markets. Seal penis is a delicacy in China.
PRIEST LAKE – On the morning of June 8, a nonresident hunter shot and killed a male grizzly bear he mistook for a black bear. The bear was killed in Idaho’s Panhandle, north of Upper Priest Lake. After shooting the bear and identifying it as a grizzly, the hunter contacted Idaho Fish and Game and is cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
Officials say the incident serves an important reminder that grizzly bears can be found in game management units in the Panhandle, in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and grizzlies are known to occasionally visit portions of the Clearwater Region. Hunters can refer to page 73 of the 2023 Big Game Seasons and Rules to see units where grizzlies may be found.
Grizzly bears are protected under state and federal…
Weeks of unprecedented wildfiresin Canada have burned millions of hectares, displaced more than 100,000 residents and plunged the country into a nationwide crisis as exhausted crews battle hundreds of blazes. But experts caution that a changing climate and human actions on the landscape will probably make fire seasons worse in the coming years.
Hundreds of firefighters from across the world have flown toCanadato aid a nation stretched thin with a spring fire season that has shattered records on both sides of the country, with warmer and drier months still to come.
A Pennsylvania man who attempted to shoot a deer, but instead shot his elderly neighbor, is headed to jail.
According to reports,Michael Lloyd, 41, of College Township was sentenced Friday to serve at least three months and as long as 23 ½ months in the Centre County Correctional Facility. Per the Centre Daily Times, Lloyd must report to the prison by June 12.
His hunting license was revoked for five years, and he was ordered to pay $29,000 in restitution, according to reports. That total could increase if the 83-year-old man that Lloyd shot has to receive additional treatments.
The last few years have been a rollercoaster ride for the plant-based meat market. When Beyond Meat—arguably one of the most well-known brands in the plant-based meat arena—first went public in 2019, it made history when the stock surged to record-breaking highs. Since then, the brand has found its way to grocery store shelves, restaurant menus, and fast-food chains all over the world (hello, McPlant in the UK). But it hasn’t all been plain sailing for the California brand—or indeed, the rest of the plant-based meat industry.
In a very short period of time, the plant-based meat market was crowded with options. And all of that competition made things complicated. Even Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown has acknowledged that the number of products on the market made it very difficult for his brand to stay on its upward trajectory. We’ve also witnessed a pandemic, and, right now, a cost of living crisis, which has also affected product sales.
But all of that said, Beyond Meat is turning things around, and vegan meat sales—driven by health, environmental, and ethical concerns—do seem to be thriving. The story appears to be a little different for traditional meat, however. Here’s what you need to know.
Beyond Meat
Vegan meat sales to increase
According to Brown, Beyond Meat is set for a solid second half of this year, which will see the company return to growth and achieve cashflow positive status, reports AgFunder Network Partners (AFN). This follows year-on-year declines in US food service and retail, but growth in international food service.
The company is set to launch new products, after reportedly failing to do enough to separate itself from the pack in recent years. “A tremendous number of entrants came into the [plant-based meat] category,” Brown told AFN. “It became a very crowded and somewhat confusing landscape for the consumer, and I don’t think we did enough to really stand out.”
“Now some of that is taking care of itself as the category shakes out and I think the consumer is left with a much more rational and approachable decision set in grocery,” he added, before revealing that a new, “animalic” edition of the Beyond Burger is set for release. “It’s been a long time in the making,” he said. “But we are receiving very positive reviews from early customer tests.”
Several reports have indicated growth in the plant-based meat sector as a whole. According to Grand View Research, in 2022, the global plant-based meat market was worth more than $4.4 billion, and it’s expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 24.9 percent from 2023 to 2030.
The market research platform does also acknowledge that things haven’t been easy for everyone in the industry (calling out Beyond Meat and fellow California plant-based giant Impossible Foods, specifically), but “rising consciousness” among consumers will help to keep overall growth on track.
“Diverse plant-based meat types continue to grow in popularity, which diversifies and expands the category,” Grand View Research reports. “The exponential growth of refrigerated plant-based meat is likely to continue over the forecast period of 2023-2030. It reflects a shift in both product innovation and merchandising strategies across the plant-based industry.”
Individual retailers have also spotted growth in the plant-based sector. Sprouts Farmers Market, for example, which has more than 380 stores across the US, recently reported a 21-percent growth in the sale of plant-based alternatives. And even meat giants themselves are banking on demand. John Pinto, the CEO of plant-based brand PlantPlus Foods, which was jointly created by Brazil’s second-largest beef producer Marfrig, also recently acknowledged challenges, but predicted that global plant-based food sales will surge to $30 billion in the next decade.
“Plant-based consumption has slowed down due to the macroeconomic scenario and all the supply-chain hurdles that all the food sector faced over the past years,” Pinto told Bloomberg. “We see this moment as a chapter on the sector’s expansion process.”
Adobe Stock
Is demand for conventional meat dropping?
While the plant-based market appears to be accelerating, the story seems a little different in the conventional meat industry.
It’s important to note that the market is undeniably still colossal, worth nearly $900 billion, and millions of people still love regular, animal meat from factory farms. But recent reports indicate that the cost of living crisis has caused consumers to pull back a little from making big animal protein purchases.
According to data from the Meat Demand Monitor Project, US consumer demand hit a peak during the middle of last year and has been dropping ever since. That said, the demand still remains higher than it was in 2020, during the pandemic.
But there are other reasons, aside from price, for the drop in demand since 2022, claims Professor Glynn Tonsor of Kansas State University’s Department of Agricultural Economics. “Regularly … we observe the relative importance of price is lower in many coastal states (on average within those states at least),” he told National Hog Farmer.
“My opinion is most coastal residents likely place a higher priority on environmental impact, animal welfare, and perhaps some other social considerations that differ from the traditional eating experience factors of taste, fresh[ness], etc,” he continued. “Accordingly, this makes price a lower relative factor for those residents.”
In the EU, the meat market also appears to be struggling. In April 2023, for example, the European Commission revealed that beef, pig, and sheep meat production are forecast to see declines. And in the same month, Germany’s Federal Office for Agriculture and Food revealed that the country’s meat consumption was at its lowest level for over 30 years.
This is ultimately good news for climate scientists, who have consistently been urging Western countries to cut down on their meat consumption for the benefit of the environment. Animal agriculture is a leading contributor to a number of major environmental issues, including deforestation and rising greenhouse gas emissions.
In April 2022, one study from the University of Bonn in Germany suggested that meat consumption must drop by at least 75 percent in rich countries, which are putting an unnecessary strain on the planet through a high demand for animal products.
“If all humans consumed as much meat as Europeans or North Americans, we would certainly miss the international climate targets and many ecosystems would collapse,” said the study’s lead author Professor Matin Qaim.
There’s a lot of buzz about lab-grown “meat” technology. It involves taking stem cells from an animal to grow inside bioreactors, where cells are fooled into believing they are still inside an animal’s body because they are fed a mixture of nutrients such as amino acids, vitamins, sugars and minerals.
Though these biopsies are invasive, supporters argue the process is less painful than many of the procedures an animal might endure during its lifetime on a farm, and the process does not involve the animal being killed.
However, Gary L. Francione, philosopher at Rutgers University and author of the 2020 work Why Veganism Matters: The Moral Value of Animals, said of lab-grown meat that “if an animal was used, it is not vegan.” Period.
We couldn’t agree more.
Eating “clean meat” will not eliminate harm to animals; eating plants will, in addition to improving individual health.
Flesh produced by lab workers doesn’t offer a better future for animals or the environment. As of right now, all lab-grown meat still uses and commodifies animals — whether it’s foie gras grown from avian starter cells that are taken from a muscle-biopsy procedure or a “clean” hamburger using bovine starter cells, a byproduct from blood of cow fetuses extracted during the slaughtering process.
Find out the truth about lab-grown meat in this Q&A between Friends of Animals President Priscilla Feral and Francione.
As you know, on Nov. 21, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration decided that lab-grown meat made by culturing animal cells is safe to eat. The FDA gave the green light to California-based Upside Foods “chicken,” putting it one step closer to grocery store shelves and restaurants. What’s your reaction to this development?
I am absolutely opposed to any animal use. There is no sort of animal use that I will praise or support. I am not a utilitarian (or consequentialist of any sort) where fundamental rights are involved. So the “but it will reduce the killing of animals” arguments don’t resonate with me. And by the way, I do not think for a second cultured meat will reduce animal use in any significant way. The large agricultural corporations that produce meat know that world population is increasing, and we are running out of space to expand conventional meat production. Cultured meat will supplement a market that I do not think will be substantially reduced and certainly not eliminated. That is, cultured meat is just going to become part of the meat industry. That is why some of those large meat companies are investing in cultured meat.
Dr. Uma Valeti, the CEO of Upside Foods, said that he’s “thrilled that U.S. consumers will soon have the chance to eat delicious meat that’s grown directly from animal cells.” What’s your response?
Valeti is the CEO of a corporation that develops and makes cultured meat. Of course he’s thrilled.
Will lab-grown meat spare animals from being bred into existence on animal farms, reducing their misery and greenhouse gas emissions?
There is no indication whatsoever that cultured meat is going to replace meat to any significant degree. I think that there is every indication that it will do little more than supplement the existing supply of meat.
Bruce Friedrich, who founded The Good Food Institute, says he’s long been focused on creating a clean alternative to animal agriculture that competes on taste, price and convenience. He also said a “clean meat” industry would be an alternative to the current objectionable animal farming practices. Do you agree?
I think that we need to shift the paradigm away from animal bodies as food. It makes no sense to me that “animal people” are perpetuating the notion that animals from any source or however produced are food. That is what needs to change. I wish “animal people” would put their time, energy and money into really promoting veganism as a moral imperative and as a major contributor to improved human health and environmental integrity, rather than trying to make money off perpetuating any sort of animal use. That is the same thinking that has fueled the animal welfare movement—a bunch of corporate charities that bring in millions selling “happy” exploitation. That has been a disaster. Why don’t “animal people” stop trying to make a living by promoting anthropocentric and speciesist thinking and behavior?
Gary L. Francione is Board of Governors Distinguished Professor of Law and Katzenbach Scholar of Law and Philosophy at Rutgers University School of Law (USA). He has written numerous books, articles, and essays on animal rights, the property status of animals, the problems with animal welfare reform campaigns and single issue campaigns, and veganism as a moral imperative. His most recent book is Why Veganism Matters: The Moral Value of Animals, published in 2020 by Columbia University Press. With his colleague and partner, Anna Charlton, he started the Rutgers Animal Rights Law Clinic in 1990, which was the first of its kind anywhere.
A necropsy revealed that the animal may have been infected with avian influenza, which would be “a big deal” if it is confirmed by further testing, scientists say.
The whale was alive when rescuers arrived on the scene, but died a few hours later.(Image credit: Seacoast Science Center – Marine Mammal Rescue. All photos were taken under Seacoast Science Center’s marine mammal stranding agreement with NOAA Fisheries, and are shared with their permission. )
A mysterious, deep-diving whale has died after a “highly unusual” stranding in Gloucester, Massachusetts — and it may have been infected with bird flu, scientists say.
The animal was still breathing when a response crew arrived on the scene at Wingaersheek Beach on May 18. The team had never seen anything like it before.
“It was alive when it initially stranded, and was noted to…
He was convicted of charges relating to discharge of a fire arm across public right of way, having loaded firearm in vehicle and failing to invalidate his deer tag. It was repeat offence with previous incident in 2019.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry have seen a Huron East resident convicted of multiple hunting and gun related charges after an incident in Huron East in December of 2020.
A Conservation Officer on patrol in the area encountered the suspect with a loaded firearm in his front seat and a deer in the truck bed with an un-notched deer tag.
It was also determined he discharged a firearm in an unsafe direction, with barns and farm lanes a short distance away.
He was convicted of charges relating to discharge of a fire arm across a public right…
Beyond Meat
Adobe Stock
