Hi there! 👋 Sofia here, back after a month away!
This edition’s got extra dense Opportunities and Research sections, including plenty of free, online events and tools, plus research spanning intervention evidence, alternative proteins in Asia, livestock investments, and more. Let’s get into it!
The most popular link from Hive Highlights late June 2026 was Animal Charity Evaluators’ (ACE) announcement of six charities selected for in-depth evaluation in 2026.
To kick off today’s Hive Highlights, here are our 3 top picks from across the movement:
From Movement News
⚖️ Policy, Legislation, and Law: The US Senate Agriculture Committee’s Farm Bill draft excludes the Save Our Bacon Act, preserving state-level animal welfare laws on intensive confinement.
From Jobs & Opportunities
🔥 Opportunities: Vegan Hacktivists opens registration for Amplify, a series of free online courses for animal advocates covering strategic decision-making with AI, workflow automation, and AI foundations.
💰 Funding: Spring Innovation Fund launches as a nonprofit venture studio using philanthropic capital to incubate startups improving farmed animal welfare at commercial scale. Apply as an entrepreneur-in-residence or seek funding for an existing startup.
P.S. I wrote about my sabbatical on Substack: why I took it, the worries that nearly stopped me, and what a month of rest gave back. I hope you’ll find it useful, especially if you’re a leader thinking about longer breaks for yourself or your team!
Warmly,
Sofia, Chelsea, and the Hive team
How to navigate Hive Highlights
Every two weeks, Hive sends you the latest updates (click to jump):
Movement news: Covering 🐖 Animal Welfare, 🥗 Plant-Based Food & Alternative Protein, ⚖️ Policy, Legislation, and Law, 💪🏾 Animal Advocacy Org Updates, and 🎲 Other
Jobs & Opportunities: Covering 💼 Jobs, 💡 Skilled volunteering, 🔥 Opportunities, 💰 Funding, and 🤝 Upcoming External Events
Resources: Covering 📚 Research, 🎙️ Podcasts, 📙 Books, and 🎥 Videos
Hive updates: Covering the latest from our team!
Other ways to read this newsletter: Extensions Jetwriter AI (to summarize posts) or Read Aloud.
🐖 Animal Welfare
Acqua Fiuggi and Lutech Group drop their Milan Fashion Week partnerships over the event’s continued use of fur, following campaigns by the Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade.
The Fishing Industry Association of Papua New Guinea includes aquatic animal welfare as a priority in its new five-year Impact Report, supported by the Aquatic Life Institute.
Over 80% of major restaurant chain locations in the Philippines (up from nearly zero in 2022) and 84% of major hotel group locations commit to sourcing cage-free eggs.
🥗 Plant-Based Food & Alternative Protein
The European Union pledges farmer support for diversification into plant-based crops as part of its upcoming protein plan.
The Good Food Institute releases new US foodservice market data showing plant-based dairy gaining ground in 2025 while analog meat, eggs, and cheese lost share.
One Just World launches the Cluster Changemakers Accelerator, a 20-week program bringing together 10 youth-led groups across India to advance plant-based food systems.
Pablo AMC models the potential market share of cultivated meat, finding beef and seafood most likely to be replaced while chicken and pork remain difficult due to their feed efficiency.
ProVeg International publishes modeling showing that shifting European Union public food procurement to 85% plant-based menus could generate €11.61 billion in annual savings.
⚖️ Policy, Legislation, and Law
Kenya becomes the first African country to launch a national standard operating procedure for fish welfare in aquaculture.
💪 Animal Advocacy Org Updates
The European Institute for Animal Law & Policy launches an Omnibus Tracker monitoring how the European Commission’s “omnibus” regulations will impact animals.
ProVeg Brazil launches a rural transition pilot helping livestock farmers shift to plant-based agroforestry, alongside research finding the switch could increase producer income.
The Veterinary Association for Farm Animal Welfare seeks a volunteer Treasurer to oversee financial operations for the only US veterinary organization devoted solely to farm animal welfare.
💼 Jobs
AI Enabling Manager, ProVeg International. Remote, global (core hours 10am-4pm CET). Apply by 19 July.
(Senior) Researcher, AI x Animals, Rethink Priorities. Remote, global. Apply by 19 July.
Director of Development, We Animals. Remote, global (Eastern Time overlap preferred). Apply by 21 July.
Associate Director, Global Donor Experience & Engagement (apply by 22 July), Global Senior Mid-Level Giving Manager (apply by 1 August); and Global Senior Prospect Research Manager (apply by 14 August), Compassion in World Farming. Hybrid, Godalming, UK.
Development Specialist and Director of Finance & Operations, New Roots Institute. Remote, North America.
Operations Officer and Program Officer, Animal Empathy Philippines. Hybrid, Manila, Philippines.
Job search tip: Browse Hive’s Jobs and Careers Resources and follow our Slack’s job feed in the #job-posting channel for new positions daily! You can also view the Animal Advocacy Careers, AltProtein.Jobs, Food Impact Careers, and Probably Good job boards.
💡 Job hunting? Also consider skilled volunteering
Volunteering helps you build skills, connections, context, and credentials, all while creating change for farmed animals. For many people, volunteering is a key step towards working professionally in the movement. For others, volunteering is one of several impactful ways to contribute.
Three places to find volunteering opportunities helping farmed animals:
The Hive Slack Community (that’s us!)
🔥 Opportunities
The Humane League and coalition partners host a virtual Farm Bill lobby training to oppose the Save Our Bacon provision, offering a crash course in effective political advocacy, on 8 July.
Animal Defender Project hosts a webinar, Funding Across Borders: Key Legal Concepts for Foreign Grants, on 9 July.
The New York University Food Impact Program hosts an online panel, Federal Preemption and the Future of Farmed Animal Welfare Law, on the Save Our Bacon Act and its implications for US state animal welfare laws, on 10 July.
Animal Justice hosts an online panel, Influencing for Animals, featuring five social media creators sharing practical tips on expanding your reach for animals, on 15 July.
Rethink Priorities seeks expressions of interest from potential founders to launch new organizations focused on neglected animal issues including invertebrate welfare, wild animal welfare, AI and animals, and welfare technology, with 3–6 months of funded runway available. Apply by 19 July.
Animal Think Tank and Better Food Foundation host a webinar, Plant-Based Messaging That Works: Narrative Strategy for Food Systems, on 29 July.
We Animals opens its July story pitching window for photojournalists, prioritizing stories on industrial animal agriculture, animal sentience, and systemic change for animals. Submit pitches by 31 July.
Asia for Animals (AfA) opens registration for AfA CONNECT 2026, a virtual networking event for animal protection professionals across Asia, on 19 August.
Faunalytics launches the Faunalytics Lens, an AI-powered research and synthesis tool combining frontier AI with its full Research Library to provide cited, data-driven insights on any animal advocacy topic.
GoalsWon offers free one-on-one human accountability coaching for researchers, students, and operators in the effective altruism space.
Scarlet Spark invites animal advocates to complete its 2026 Movement Engagement Survey, helping build a global picture of retention, performance, and well-being.
💰 Funding
The India Animal Welfare Funding Circle opens its July 2026 grant round for organizations and individuals working on farmed animal welfare and foods systems transformation in India. Apply by 6 August.
Fundraising tip: Hive’s Fundraising Guide includes a database of current opportunities and key resources on how to fundraise.
🤝 Upcoming External Events
AVA Ghana, 16–19 July. Accra, Ghana.
EAGxBerkeley, 21–23 August. Berkeley, US.
New Food Conference, 25 August. Berlin, Germany.
EAGxSingapore, 29–30 August. Singapore, Singapore.
Animal Grantmakers Conference, 16–17 September. Oklahoma City, US.
CARE Conference, 17–20 September. Warsaw, Poland.
EAGxIndia, 19–20 September. New Delhi, India.
Plant Forward, 21–23 September. Saskatoon, Canada.
EAGxOxford, 25–27 September. Oxford, UK
Animal Law Advocacy Conference, 2–4 October. Toronto, Canada.
Events tip: View more on the Connect for Animals (CFA) event list, the Effective Altruism Global event page, and our Conference Database.
📚 Research
ACE publishes a review of the evidence behind investor advocacy as an animal advocacy intervention.
AfA releases a report examining the opportunities and challenges shaping alternative proteins across 13 Asian countries.
Bryant Research publishes new modeling on the food security implications of zero-grazing dairy systems in the UK.
Faunalytics publishes its July 2026 Index, a monthly data roundup from recent animal advocacy research, alongside new survey research on Indian Gen Z attitudes toward plant-based eating.
The Institute for Future Food Systems publishes its May 2026 Studies & Reports of the Month digest, covering topics from structural food systems change to industry influence on research conclusions.
Researchers find plant-based products contain roughly twice as many food additives as comparable animal-based products in a UK supermarket analysis, though this does not necessarily indicate increased health risk.
Researchers find that World Bank Group livestock investments in Africa tripled to $3 billion per year between 2021 and 2024.
Researchers review two decades of scientific advances in fish welfare, highlighting growing evidence for fish cognition, pain perception, and welfare assessment tools.
Researchers synthesize psychological research on speciesism and the processes that sustain animal exploitation.
Rethink Priorities publishes the second part of its AI and aquaculture report, analyzing the current state of AI deployment in fish farming.
Sentient Media examines whether plant-based ‘nudges’ are an effective and affordable path to dietary change.
Stop Financing Factory Farming finds that livestock’s environmental footprint has grown since the Food and Agriculture Organization’s 2006 Livestock’s Long Shadow report.
The World Organisation for Animal Health publishes its 2026 State of the World’s Animal Health report.
🎙️ Podcasts
Animal Law Podcast
Wayne Hsiung’s Landmark Animal Rescue Appeal Wins Some, Loses Some: What it means for the Right to Rescue
Our Hen House
“It Doesn’t Seem Fair” | Animal cruelty laws, SCOTUS & constitutional rights for animals
The Rich Roll Podcast
What Happened to the Vegan Movement? Rick & Simon Hill on the rise and fall of plant-based eating
📚 Books
Farm Sanctuary: The Story of a Movement by Gene Baur. September 2026.
Intelligence of Love: How Montessori and Veganism Can Save the World by Martha Readyoff. October 2026.
🎥 Videos
Animal Activism Collective shares Local Activism: The True Power of Our Movement, a Grassroots Animal Rights Summit panel on running effective local animal rights groups.
The London School of Economics releases The hidden truth behind pig farming and meat production?, a short film examining how veterinary institutions and commercial interests shape pig welfare standards.
Join us at our next Hive Community Conversations! 👋🏼
Come for a relaxed, welcoming session of 1:1s and small-group chats. A low-lift way to connect with farmed animal advocates from around the world! Friday, 31 July, register here.
Going to AVA Summit Ghana? 🌍
We want your AVA this month to strengthen your impact for farmed animals for a long time to come. But the Whova conference app you’ll use during the event stops being available 3 months after. Then you’re stuck with follow-ups across LinkedIn, email, WhatsApp, business cards…it can be a lot. That’s why Hive Slack aims to be the year-round home for your entire AVA network!
From our team, our Generalist Therese Veith and our Pollinator Maxwell Asampana are going — say Hi(ve) if you’re there!
Our ask for July: if you’re going to AVA Summit Ghana, post in the e-ava-summit channel anytime this month. Introduce yourself, share what you’re speaking on or exhibiting, ask the organizers a question, trade Accra tips, or drop your photos and reflections once you’re back. You’ll even be entered to win a little surprise from the Hive team.
Not a Hive Slack community member yet? Register here.
New: weekly AI office hours 🤖
Richie (AI Impact Director at Vegan Hacktivists) and Steven (AI Programs Director at Vegan Hacktivists) are now hosting weekly AI office hours! Hop on the call to brainstorm, troubleshoot, or ask any questions about using AI tools for your farmed animal advocacy work.
Richie: every Tuesday, 9-10am GMT (best for Africa, Asia, Europe)
Steven: every Thursday, 4-5pm ET (best for the Americas)
Head to #s-ai-tools on the Hive Slack to join!
Thanks for reading our Hive Highlights: early July 2026 edition 🧡 It’s made possible by the incredible work of animal advocates like you.
📰 Submit inclusions for the next edition: deadline is 20 July, 2026.
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