Jessica Scott-Reid
@jesslsr.bsky.social
Journalist for the animals and planet. Sentient, Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, Winnipeg Free Press, Corporate Knights Magazine, Vox, etc.
Fewer than 15% of veterinary school graduates are choosing jobs that include farm animals. What does that mean for the health of those pigs, chickens and cows? @jesslsr.bsky.social reports: buff.ly/2lSwx26
Too Few Vets, Too Many Animals: Inside the Farm Veterinarian Shortage
Fewer than 15% of veterinary school graduates are opting to care for farm animals.
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The Trump administration says it’s paving the way for a “new era of animal welfare.” But it is ignoring the nearly 10 billion land animals farmed for food in the U.S. each year. @jesslsr.bsky.social reports: buff.ly/fx6aKiX
Trump’s ‘New Era of Animal Welfare’ Excludes Almost All Farm Animals
The administration’s agenda expands protections for some, but still excludes almost all of the 10 billion land animals farmed for food in the U.S. each year.
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Thunderstorms used to be fun. This summer changed that. Earlier this month I watched a tornado pass before my eyes. My latest for @winnipegfreepress.com: www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/anal...
Opinion: We used to love a good thunderstorm
winnipegfreepress.com
The protein-maxxing trend has whey’s popularity surging. As interest in the cheese byproduct gains, so does its environmental footprint. @jesslsr.bsky.social reports: buff.ly/7MX2eWF
As Whey Gains, Will Dairy’s Footprint Follow?
At the center of protein maxxing, whey products require energy-intensive processing and emissions-intensive milk and cheese production, with climate consequences if unchecked.
sentientmedia.org
3,700 federally protected wild horses were sold in 2025, and a new investigation reveals some end up at the slaughterhouse. @jesslsr.bsky.social reports: buff.ly/nla3uE1
American Horses Are Still Being Slaughtered for Meat
3,700 federally protected wild horses were sold in 2025, and a new investigation reveals some end up at the slaughterhouse.
sentientmedia.org
A blood-sucking critter causing human hosts to become allergic to their favorite foods? This isn’t the plot to a sci-fi movie. It’s alpha-gal syndrome.
Reports say the cause of a fire that killed 20,000 pigs in Ontario may never be known. But we know why barns continually go up in flames. My latest for @hamiltonspectator.bsky.social : www.thespec.com/opinion/cont...
Cause of barn fires is far from a mystery
In Canada, between 2015 and 2019, an average of at least 148,000 farm animals a year died in fires.
thespec.com
Since 2014, Canada's Beef Cattle Research Council has paired young researchers with feedlot CEOs, cattle producers and industry marketers. A new analysis argues the resulting science is focused on a very particular set of questions. @jesslsr.bsky.social reports:
Part of ‘the Family’: When the Beef Industry Mentors Climate Scientists
A growing body of research scrutinizes how the meat industry can shape scientific research.
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"Let the truth be shown!" @jesslsr.bsky.social says consumers deserve full transparency about what happens on farms and at slaughterhouses, and says efforts to silence whistleblowers undermine public trust. Where do you stand? 👀 FULL: rtrj.info/073026JSR 🎧 FULL: rtrj.info/073026 #aggag #ONpoli
It’s an odd thing to celebrate, the biggest opinion essay of my career, about the unravelling of animal protection in Canada. Ten years of work about the major wins and progress for animals in our country, only to see so much inaction and regression. www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Our laws reflect our values, so perhaps the question should not be what the Stampede says about Alberta, but what our willingness to accept this spectacle reveals about Canada. My latest for @torontostar-rss.bsky.social: www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
New Alberta law exempts rodeo from cruelty offences as more horses injured at stampede
The Calgary Stampede has a long history dating back to 1886 as a celebration of Western ranching traditions and cowboy culture. It has since grown into one of the world’s
thestar.com
At the JBS Swift & Co slaughterhouse in Louisville, Kentucky, 10,000 pigs are slaughtered and processed every day. Now, a former employee has taken to social media to expose the working conditions at the pork plant.
What happens at Embryos on Snow and other genetics sales is a stark contrast to how meat and dairy are marketed today. @jesslsr.bsky.social reports: buff.ly/g5dcuGw
Inside the High-Tech World of Cattle Embryos on Snow
The genetics sales event, where embryos are sold for $200K, is a stark contrast to the ‘natural’ image the meat and dairy industry wants consumers to believe.
sentientmedia.org
Sentient’s @jesslsr.bsky.social speaks with @lpm.org about how the alleged conditions at a JBS Swift pork facility mirror other large scale food processing systems.
When a former employee went public on Instagram, it pulled back the curtain on one of Louisville's largest pork plants. In this segment of "Digging In," Sentient's @jesslsr.bsky.social joins @lpm.org to break down the allegations against the JBS Swift facility.
Shocker, Polievre and Rogan get it all wrong about beef and seed oils. When political leaders serve Canadians bull, we shouldn’t be expected to swallow it. My latest for Canada's @nationalobserver.com: www.nationalobserver.com/2026/05/13/o...
Poilievre serves up bull about beef on Rogan
Promoting beef and rejecting plant-based proteins and seed oils, subtly communicate alignment with broader anti-regulatory, anti-environmental and anti-animal rights positions, while often appearing t...
nationalobserver.com
Like collagen and tallow, gelatin has grown popular as part of the broader high-protein and “natural” wellness craze, gaining fuel from TikTok’s viral “gelatin trick” and “natural Botox.” @jesslsr.bsky.social reports: buff.ly/Inyugho
The ‘Gelatin Trick’ — Clean Image, Industrial Reality
Gelatin has made a comeback thanks to “natural” wellness trends, despite modest evidence for its effectiveness and ongoing concerns about where it comes from.
sentientmedia.org
A new analysis reveals that 98% of big meat and dairy companies make misleading statements about their environmental impact, a practice known as greenwashing. @jesslsr.bsky.social reports:
98% of Big Meat and Dairy Climate Claims Are Greenwashing
Analysis of 33 top global meat and dairy companies finds nearly all use misleading messaging and promote baseless ‘sustainable’ initiatives.
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Animal parts overflow throughout a JBS Swift pork plant, documented by a former employee who is blowing the whistle on conditions inside the slaughterhouse.
An employee walks through discarded animal parts inside Louisville’s JBS Swift slaughterhouse. He told Sentient that conditions at the plant mean workers were frequently “navigating in guts.”
At the JBS Swift & Co slaughterhouse in Louisville, Kentucky, around 10,000 pigs are slaughtered and processed every day. Former employee David Olmos Herrera spoke with Sentient and revealed what working conditions are like inside the plant. @jesslsr.bsky.social reports:
‘Navigating in Guts’: a Former Worker Exposes Conditions Inside Slaughterhouse
The whistleblower has posted footage from inside a JBS pork plant, showing broken equipment and a near-impossible working environment.
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you can opt out of participating in this system entirely and it feels so great! important story here by @jesslsr.bsky.social
Sentient@sentientmedia.org · 7mo agoAt the JBS Swift pork plant in Louisville, Kentucky, it is not uncommon for liquefied animal parts to overflow across the work zone, according to former employee David Olmos Herrera. He describes working there as “basically navigating in guts.”
Authorities say several dozen animal rights activists broke into a facility in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin on March 15. @jesslsr.bsky.social reports: buff.ly/V6U4IaT
Beagles Are Still Bred on Farms for Testing and Research, an Open Rescue Reveals
Authorities say several dozen animal rights activists broke into a facility in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin on March 15.
sentientmedia.org
Elanco Animal Health reported $1.14 billion in quarterly revenue, and its farm animal sector increased 17% year-over-year. @jesslsr.bsky.social reports:
Livestock Pharmaceutical Sales Still Booming Despite Public Health Concerns
Elanco Animal Health reported $1.14 billion in quarterly revenue, and its farm animal sector increased 17% year-over-year.
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After years of mounting focus on “natural” foods, Secretary of @hhsofficial.bsky.social Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has helped elevate “real” as the latest buzzword. But what does it actually mean? @jesslsr.bsky.social explains:
The Government Wants You to Eat Real Food. But What Does That Actually Mean?
If industrialized processing is a marker for ‘not real’ food, how can industrialized meat fall under the designation of ‘real’?
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Within animal farming there are some permitted practices that aren’t all that different from the horrific acts committed in that Winnipeg apartment. My latest for @winnipegfreepress.com: www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/anal...
Opinion: Selective outrage and animal cruelty
winnipegfreepress.com
The MAHA movement wants you to believe that simply swapping your steak for a “regenerative” cut is a path to greater health. But here’s why their claims should be taken with a grain of salt.
Upcoming workshop! Harnessing the Media for Animal Advocacy: Letters to the Editor & Op-Eds with @jesslsr.bsky.social Learn how to use media writing as a powerful tool to help animals. 🗓️ Wednesday, February 11, 2026 🕐 6:00 - 7:30 PM ET ✅ Register 👉 bit.ly/4qtlMeN
While horse slaughter has ceased within the United States itself, the slaughter of American horses for meat has not. It has simply shifted across borders. @jesslsr.bsky.social reports:
American Horses are Still Being Slaughtered for Meat
83% of Americans oppose slaughtering horses for food, yet efforts to ban horse meat remain stalled.
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