Article Review | The Daily Pitchfork

Rated: D

Article Review:

"The Heretic: Livestock Is The Only Hope For A Dying Planet"

Bohemian.com - Feb 18, 2015

Allan Savory’s Fantasy Thrills Ranchers, But He’s Wrong

By James McWilliams, February 18, 2015 // 32 Comments

Allan Savory has made a career claiming that beef can reverse global warming. His working hypothesis—and do note, it is nothing more than that—is that repopulating desertified landscapes with cattle would revive grasslands, sequester carbon, and, no joke, save the... [View more]

Rated: C

Article Review:

"The Onion Fails To Peel Back The Suffering Caused By Milk"

The Onion - Jan 29, 2015

The Onion Fails To Peel Back The Suffering Caused By Milk

By James McWilliams, February 5, 2015 // 11 Comments

The Onion, a newspaper that publishes all the satire that’s fit to print, recently ran a hilarious piece about Pepperidge Farm’s famous “Milano” cookies. The story, “Pepperidge Factory Farm Under Fire For Inhumane Treatment Of Milanos” shows cookies... [View more]

Rated: F

Article Review:

"Why You Really Should (But Really Can't) Eat Horse Meat"

the Guardian - Jan 09, 2015

Guardian’s Wild Horse Meat Story Contains 92% Beef

By Vickery Eckhoff, January 27, 2015 // 21 Comments

Caty Enders handed the reins of her wild horse article to meat industry suppliers and sources. Hidden economic conflicts of interest — and significant errors — ensued.

Rated: C

Article Review:

" US Agriculture Officials Call For Independent Review Amid Scandal Over Nebraska Meat Research Facility"

International Business Times - Jan 23, 2015

International Business Times Stuck on Old Animal Rights Stereotype

By James McWilliams, January 26, 2015 // 3 Comments

Terminology matters. The descriptions that reporters use to characterize various perspectives on an issue can carry connotations that reiterate stereotypes and reinforce misconceptions. This axiom is especially true when it comes to animal issues and the media. A glaring... [View more]

Rated: A

Article Review:

"U.S. Research Lab Lets Livestock Suffer in Quest for Profit"

New York Times - Jan 21, 2015

New York Times’ House of Animal Horrors Stuns Readers

By James McWilliams, January 22, 2015 // 11 Comments

The brilliance of Michael Moss’s much-discussed Times article, “U.S. Research Lab Lets Livestock Suffer In Quest For Profit,” speaks for itself. It’s a masterpiece of rigorous reporting that culminated in a story of animal abuse told from the... [View more]

Rated: A

Article Review:

"Voiceless calls for welfare assurance scheme for Australian dairy production"

ABC Rural - Jan 22, 2015

Voiceless Gets A Voice In The Australian Media

By James McWilliams, January 21, 2015 // 4 Comments

Animal advocates have long lamented the popular perception that milk and eggs are, relative to meat, harmless manifestations of the animal-industrial complex. While Gary Francione has frequently noted that there’s possibly more suffering in a glass of milk than a... [View more]

Rated: B

Article Review:

"A Wild Goose Chase"

Eater - Jan 14, 2015

Eater Magazine Leaves Gavage Ethics Out of Foie Gras Discussion

By James McWilliams, January 20, 2015 // 3 Comments

Wyatt Williams’ recent piece in Eater centers on a south Georgia farmer’s ethically fraught decision to raise foie gras. Williams—who told me in a phone conversation that “we can best understand farming on a farm-to-farm basis”—spends a... [View more]

Rated: B

Article Review:

"What Does "Cage-Free" Even Mean?"

Mother Jones - Jan 14, 2015

Is Mother Jones Holding Undercover Petaluma Egg Video to Higher Standard of Proof?

By James McWilliams, January 16, 2015 // 4 Comments

The commentary surrounding Direct Action Everywhere’s (DxE) undercover video footage of Petaluma Farms continues. The latest article of note came yesterday from Mother Jones’s Tom Philpott. Philpott’s piece is a strong one. It does a good job... [View more]

Rated: C

Article Review:

"Let Them Eat Foie Gras"

The New York Times - Jan 13, 2015

Is Bittman’s Latest New York Times’ Column Right? Is Foie Gras Unimportant?

By James McWilliams, January 14, 2015 // 12 Comments

Mark Bittman’s recent column on California’s overturn of the state’s foie gras ban is—for lack of a better term—weird. Really weird. The gist is that Bittman thinks we’re paying too much attention to the cruelty of foie... [View more]

Rated: B

Article Review:

"Here's What Starbucks' Sweeping New Animal Welfare Standards Really Mean"

The Village Voice - Jan 12, 2015

Village Voice Gives Voice To Voiceless

By James McWilliams, January 13, 2015 // 3 Comments

Kudos to Village Voice writer Sara Ventiera for a thorough update on Starbucks’ plans to implement a new set of animal welfare standards. Ventiera notes that while the company has earned its share of flack in recent years, its animal welfare move could assuage... [View more]