The Australian campaign group Ban Live Exports have catalogued a raft of severe animal welfare abuses. To western eyes these might seem exceptionally brutal but the fact is that in any intensive system once animals draw near their slaughter date cruelty rachets up.

In many parts of the world incomes are increasing and ever more people are moving into cities. Lifestyles are changing. And so are diets.

Two new leaders of the first and third largest Christian churches: Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis, and Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury. A...

News of the thousands of sheep that were lost in last week's snow drifts has given us an insight into sheep farming. Warnings were issued several days...

If we are concerned about the over-use of antibiotics in human medicine then alarm bells should sound louder still when it comes to their use in intensive farming.

With all the furore surrounding the horse meat scandal it seems there is no better time the current advertising campaign promoting the new Linda McCartney range. But will it work?

After the initial shock value of eating a horse, we've gotten over it. Horsemeat isn't the issue. In fact, it's as normal as eating beef or chicken in many parts of the world. The real issue is this: if horsemeat can be slipped into our readymeals - what else could be in there?

In trawling nets, fish are trapped with rocks, debris and other sea life and dragged along the bottom of the sea for hours. Surely, in these circumstances, they must suffer fear, pain and stress?

Thanks to the horse meat scandal tons of processed meat products are being removed from supermarket cabinets. The waste is huge. But the meat industry usually strives to avoid waste. Any part of an animal that can possibly be used for human consumption is made fit to eat, right down to the stripping of bones.

This is a really good way of enjoying tender lamb without having to buy a whole leg or an expensive rack. The rump takes on a lovely flavour from the marinade and it is a great combination with the slightly sweet roasted vegetable, particularly with the freshness of the salsa verde

Fighting bulls are selected for their aggressive spirit. Like racehorses bred for the track they are highly prized and their welfare is paramount. Beef cattle, on the other hand, are bred and reared purely for meat. Only a very small proportion are kept for breeding - nearly all bull calves are castrated.

When our backs are against the wall, our fear and anxiety, our terrified, panic-stricken reaction, are just the same. How must animals feel when they are rounded up for slaughter and rushed up ramps onto lorries?

There are several types of vegetarian. Lacto-vegetarians eat dairy products but not eggs. Ovo-vegetarians eat eggs but not dairy products. Ovo-lacto-vegetarians eat eggs and dairy. But vegetarians who have chosen to forego meat in order to avoid the killing of animals may find that they are.

Quail for Christmas? Recipes are plentiful. These birds are the smallest European game bird. But those for the table have never been wild and they have not been shot for sport. Rather they are - as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has described them - factory farming's most recent and smallest victims.

Every day, all over the world, animals arrive at slaughterhouses by the truck, train and ship load - around 65 billion every year. That number is predicted to double by 2050.