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In some regions of the world, wild-caught insects have been a valuable source of protein for centuries. However, the mass farming of insects for food and feed is a modern practice. Over the last decade, the insect farming industry has been hailed as a silver bullet for many of our food system’s problems. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization has been a proponent since 2013, when it published a report advocating the potential of farmed insect protein to contribute to global food security. Things haven’t worked out quite as planned, however, a reality that was brought into stark relief recently...

People who eat just two servings of red meat per week may have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to people who eat fewer servings, and the risk increases with greater consumption, according to a new study led by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. They also found that replacing red meat with healthy plant-based protein sources, such as nuts and legumes, or modest amounts of dairy foods, was associated with reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. The study was published on Thursday, October 19, in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. “Our findings...

Higher intake of heme iron, the type found in red meat and other animal products—as opposed to non-heme iron, found mostly in plant-based foods—was associated with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) in a new study. The researchers assessed the link between iron and T2D using 36 years of dietary reports from 206,615 adults enrolled in the Nurses' Health Studies I and II and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. The researchers also analyzed the biological mechanisms underpinning heme iron's relationship to T2D among smaller subsets of the participants. They looked at 37,544 participants' plasma metabolic biomarkers, including...

Benjy, the bull in Ireland who had an international campaign launched in his name after his original owner threatened to send him to the slaughterhouse due to his lack of interest in mating, appears to be exploring new options in his sanctuary home. His new owner, Wendy Valentine of the Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Frettenham, Northfolk, told the BBC “Judging by what he was trying to do the other day with one of the cows… he isn’t gay.” …