Why I stopped being vegetarian — I became vegetarian because I didn’t want to kill anymore. I hadn’t read any animal rights philosophy, and I didn’t see any factory farm footage. I was just sick of killing. …

‘Music opened the door, and behind it, I found an animal like me’ — Alfonso pressed a CD into my hand and gave me a mission: Memorize the name of every musician and song on the album. …

Plants can communicate with one another, sense their environment, and react to danger. But can they suffer? — Plants are sensitive. Some can hear the sounds of a munching caterpillar and respond by releasing defensive chemicals. Others can smell scents as subtle as that of an approaching animal. Many can see light using photoreceptors, and certain carnivorous plants can even feel the footsteps of their prey. …

It’s time to settle the debate that pits bad science against worse philosophy — As a vegan who likes to preach veganism — but perhaps that’s redundant —meat-eaters often tell me that “we evolved to be omnivores.” To their surprise, I agree with them. Though I am a vegan, my academic training is in human evolutionary biology, and I cannot let my philosophy hijack…

Americans sacrifice each other for meat under the shadow of coronavirus — Would you eat a burger with a little bit of human in it? Most of us recoil at the prospect of cannibalism not because of an allergy or an aversion to the taste, but because we are disgusted at the prospect of another human dying for our dinner. For the…

Pangolins don’t kill people, people kill people — Pangolins were imprisoned long before their conviction in the court of public opinion. Though we now know them as the source of the novel coronavirus, their claim to fame was once their status as the world’s most heavily trafficked mammal. …

A look at the 2020 election from the perspective of other species. — It’s normal for us vegans to walk into a restaurant, look at the menu, and realize the options are both limited and unappetizing. This will be good practice for looking at our ballots in 2020. To describe either of our options as honest would be to identify yourself as otherwise…

The origin of the original plant-based meat is clouded with multiple theories — Plant-based meats are exploding on the American market. Over the past two years alone, we’ve seen a 37.1% surge in their sales, with even more dramatic growth projected for 2020. Burger King credits their best quarter in four years to their new Impossible Whopper, and Dunkin’ Donuts easily doubled expected…

What prison could teach us about freedom — A guest would assume I’ve been stockpiling for a war against boredom. Enter my apartment, and you will see that my shelves are overflowing with hundreds of books, and my coffee table is stacked with magazines. My television is armed with Netflix and a Nintendo Switch (locked and loaded with…