Saving Seafood

Maine, GAA conclude audits into Cooke’s Bingham facility, accused by vegan activist group of cruelty to animals

November 22, 2019 — The Maine Department of Agriculture’s Animal Welfare Division has concluded its investigation into the Cooke Aquaculture salmon hatchery in Bingham, Maine, finding no punitive measures were necessary after the company implemented a number of reforms.

The investigation was prompted by more than 17 hours of video footage shot by an undercover representative of Compassion over Killing, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit advocating for and end to animal abuse and greater adoption of vegan diets nationwide. The group has ties to VegInvest Trust, an investment fund that has backed seafood analog companies. An abbreviated, edited version of the video produced by Compassion over Killing was made public on 7 October.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Group targeting Cooke with undercover video tied to plant-based seafood alternative companies

October 8, 2019 — WASHINGTON — Yesterday, the Washington, D.C.-based NGO Compassion Over Killing (COK) made headlines when it released a video targeting the operations at a Cooke Aquaculture hatchery in Maine. Today, new reporting from IntraFish and Seafood Source reveals that COK has ties to a plant-based seafood investor that is led by COK’s board chair, Amy Trakinski, an attorney who formerly represented animal protection groups. Plant-based seafood products would compete with farm-raised seafood products in the marketplace.

The following is an excerpt from IntraFish’s reporting:

[Compassion Over Killing] has ties to VegInvest, which provides early-stage capital and guidance to companies working to replace the use of animals in the food supply, according to its website. Its portfolio of companies includes plant-based alternative seafood firms Good Catch, New Wave Foods and BlueNalu, among other plant-based food producers.

Read the full story from IntraFish

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