Articles by Ryan Huling
Contributor: Charge wildfire arsonists with cruelty to animals
When an investigator asked suspected arsonist Jonathan Rinderknecht why someone might set the blaze that would eventually become the Palisades fire, he surmised it "would be out of resentment of the rich enjoying their money" and compared it to Luigi Mangione's vigilante assassination of a United Healthcare executive. I have a follow-up: What did the wild animals displaced, maimed and killed by the fire do to you? It's a question nobody on the prosecution seems to be asking.
Los Angeles Review of Books
Ryan Huling travels the world to discover how the human and animal kingdoms intersect. The Hidden Nations of Animals: A Grand Tour of Earth’s Wild Civilizations by Ryan Huling. Avery, 2026. 288 pages. LARB publishes daily without a paywall as part of our mission to make rigorous, incisive, and engaging writing on every aspect of literature, culture, and the arts freely accessible to the public.
Traversing the Saiga Silk Road
As we skidded off the main road and onto a mud path maintained only by tire treads, lines began to blur. Flanking our two-track trail were a series of parallel lanes no more than a foot wide, which forked, merged, and crisscrossed our own. In the distance, I saw what looked like a ghost train, faintly visible and thrust forward by howling Siberian winds. Through borrowed binoculars, I soon got my first glimpse of an ancient tableau, seemingly untouched since Neanderthals roamed the earth.
Opinion: America’s wildlife refuges may no longer protect the animals
The early 1900s were a very bad time to be a bird. On average, more than 5 million were killed every year — not for sustenance, but to feed perhaps the most frivolous of trades: plume-topped hats. Ostentatious headwear made of egrets and other animals — some of which featured an entire taxidermied body— was so popular at the start of the 20th century that hunters swiftly wiped out 95% of Florida’s shore birds.
Commentary: America’s wildlife refuges may no longer protect the animals
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... The early 1900s were a very bad time to be a bird. On average, more than 5 million were killed every year — not for sustenance, but to feed perhaps the most frivolous of trades: plume-topped hats. Ostentatious headwear made of egrets and other animals — some of which featured an entire taxidermied body— was so popular at the start of the 20th century that hunters swiftly wiped out 95% of Florida’s shore birds.
America's wildlife refuges may no longer protect the animals
The early 1900s were a very bad time to be a bird. On average, more than 5 million were killed every year - not for sustenance, but to feed perhaps the most frivolous of trades: plume-topped hats. Ostentatious headwear made of egrets and other animals - some of which featured an entire taxidermied body- was so popular at the start of the 20th century that hunters swiftly wiped out 95% of Florida's shore birds.
Commentary: America's wildlife refuges may no longer protect the animals
The early 1900s were a very bad time to be a bird. On average, more than 5 million were killed every year - not for sustenance, but to feed perhaps the most frivolous of trades: plume-topped hats. Ostentatious headwear made of egrets and other animals - some of which featured an entire taxidermied body - was so popular at the start of the 20th century that hunters swiftly wiped out of Florida's shore birds.
Contributor: America's wildlife refuges may no longer protect the animals
The early 1900s were a very bad time to be a bird. On average, more than 5 million were killed every year — not for sustenance, but to feed perhaps the most frivolous of trades: plume-topped hats. Ostentatious headwear made of egrets and other animals — some of which featured an entire taxidermied body — was so popular at the start of the 20th century that hunters swiftly wiped out 95% of Florida's shore birds.
Is this L.A.'s most dangerous weekend trip?
Recently, nature writer Ryan Huling wanted to find places where animals got together in the absence of people. But of course, people are absent from those places because they’re hard to get to, or dangerous, or both. So when Huling journeyed to San Miguel Island, the furthest outpost of the Channel Islands chain and a 70-mile trip from LA, he contended with high winds and high seas above the surface, and sharks just below. “Not the small ones,” Huling says.
‘Hidden Nations’ Review: Joining Paws, Claws and Jaws
Wild animals are often good collaborators. Termites construct skyscrapers and beavers build majestic dams. There are even octopus cities. Two humpback whales and a calf near Greenland’s Ilulissat Icefjord. Getty Images When users first began playing around with Google Earth two decades ago, most went searching for their homes or giant natural wonders such as the Grand Canyon. Jean Thie went looking for beavers.
UK University Makes ‘Google Maps’ For Campus Wildlife Showing Hedgehog Highways And Seagull Lunch Spots
Imagine, if you will, a college student returning from summer break for the start of a new semester. Heading to her first class of the day, she pulls up the campus map on her phone and is intrigued to find two options: human or multispecies. Instinctively, she clicks “human” and sees the familiar layout of the idyllic school grounds she’s come to know. It confirms that she’s headed in the right direction. She starts to put her phone away but hesitates.
Ryan Huling
Ryan Huling is a writer based in Sierra Madre, California. His book The Hidden Nations of Animals (2026) is out now.
How AI is revealing the secret lives of animals from hummingbirds to pumas
Peering out at California’s San Gabriel Mountains through the windows of my cabin, I can still recall the massive wildfire that incinerated more than 40,000 hectares of Angeles National Forest in 2020. As colossal columns of smoke rose above the ridge line, newsreaders reported that no homes had been destroyed and that the blaze had not caused any injuries. That was blatantly untrue.
In California, a Plan to Help Wildlife Cross a Busy Freeway
On a rare, clear day, one can look due west from the Mount Wilson Observatory, perched at nearly 6,000 feet on the outskirts of Los Angeles, and see the wide basin of the San Fernando Valley. A natural bowl flanked by mountains, the valley floor once teemed with life, as foxes, hares, deer, and coyotes coursed through its trough, occasionally plucked by skulking cougars, also known as mountain lions.
Animals Have Culture, Too
Credits Ryan Huling is a writer and explorer focusing on animals, food and technology. He is a senior writer at the Good Food Institute Asia Pacific and the author of “The Hidden Nations of Animals.” When ecologists relocated dozens of bighorn sheep from Oregon, eastern Wyoming and other locations to the Rocky Mountains to restore populations eradicated by hunters, the animals — typically seasonal migrants — had no idea what to do.
Has the Time Finally Come for Multispecies Maps?
Imagine, if you will, a college student returning from summer break for the start of a new semester. Heading to her first class of the day, she pulls up the campus map on her phone and is intrigued to find two options: human or multispecies. Article continues after advertisement Instinctively, she clicks “human” and sees the familiar layout of the idyllic school grounds she’s come to know. It confirms that she’s headed in the right direction. She starts to put her phone away but hesitates.
Come il ratto talpa "coltiva piante" nelle sue elaborate città sotterranee
Questo roditore sotterraneo, noto per le sue proprietà antitumorali, riempie le gallerie per favorire la ricrescita delle piante di cui si nutre: una pratica che potrebbe precedere l’agricoltura umana. DI Ryan Huling pubblicato 10-06-2026 Alcuni ratti talpa africani riempiono i loro tunnel con la terra per far ricrescere le piante mangiate solo in parte: una pratica che potrebbe essere più antica dell'agricoltura umana. FOTOGRAFIA DI DR.
Human wars are displacing and killing hidden nations of animals
By Ryan Huling, Los Angeles Times Upon returning home from his time as a volunteer ambulance driver in World War I, naturalist Henry Beston famously described wild animals as "other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth." Fast-forward to today, as Arabian humpback whales navigate between sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz, and Beston's prescient quote takes on new resonance.
Rypoši zakládají farmy pod zemí. Podívejte se na video z jejich unikátních tunelů
Po tisíciletí platilo zemědělství za výsadu člověka. Definice je prostá: obdělávání půdy a produkce plodin. V roce 2022 ji ale zpochybnila recenzovaná studie – zjistila, že pytlonoš floridský (Geomys pinetis) nejen hloubí rozsáhlé soustavy podzemních chodeb, čímž urychluje obrůstání částečně okousaných kořenů, ale navíc trusem půdu hnojí.
Commentary: Human wars are displacing and killing hidden nations of animals
Upon returning home from his time as a volunteer ambulance driver in World War I, naturalist Henry Beston famously described wild animals as "other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth." Fast-forward to today, as Arabian humpback whales navigate between sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz, and Beston's prescient quote takes on new resonance.
Watch a mole rat 'farmer' at work in its elaborate subterranean city
Some African mole-rats backfill their tunnels with soil to regenerate partially eaten plants—a practice that may predate humankind, and can arguably be considered farming. Dr. Kyle Finn Ryan Huling Thu, June 4, 2026 at 11:00 AM UTC 6 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. For millennia, humans were believed to be the only mammals to farm, defined as the practice of cultivating soil and producing crops or other foods.
Contributor: Human wars are displacing and killing hidden nations of animals
South Sudan's elephant population plummeted by 95% during the Sudanese Civil War, as herds of gentle bystanders got caught in the crossfire.
Les sociétés secrètes du monde animal
Nouveauté Une leçon d'humilité face à ce monde foisonnant en parfait équilibre Et si nous nous inspirions des sociétés animales pour apprendre à « vivre ensemble » ?
Beavers Don’t Just Build Dams, They Build Nations Original
Gazing out the left-hand side of our boat, I caught my first glimpse of the rugged eastern perimeter of Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta, Canada—a land saturated in superlatives. Beyond the imposing stockade of white spruce and balsam, North America’s most expansive protected wilderness zone is filled with dense peat bogs called muskeg—a seemingly endless quilt of stagnant pools, waterlogged vegetation, and organic material in various states of decomposition.
Ryan Huling 1 posts 0 comments
Book Excerpt: Agriculture Risks Erasing ‘Generations of Knowledge’ Across Central Asia Ryan Huling is a senior writer at the Good Food Institute Asia Pacific and the author of the new book The Hidden Nations of Animals, from which this guest essay was adapted. As we skidded off the main road and onto a mud path maintained!-->!-->!-->… Read More...
Book Excerpt: Agriculture Risks Erasing ‘Generations of Knowledge’ Across Central Asia
7 Mins Read As we skidded off the main road and onto a mud path maintained only by tire treads, lines began to blur. Flanking our two-track trail were a series of parallel lanes no more than a foot wide, which forked, merged, and crisscrossed our own. The dashboard GPS showed us headed toward a cluster of green and red dots. In the distance, I saw what looked like a ghost train, faintly visible and thrust forward by howling Siberian winds.
China is bolstering food security with biomanufacturing. Australia should, too
Australia urgently needs sovereign biomanufacturing capability to reduce its exposure to fragile global supply chains, especially those tied to agri-food systems. A national biomanufacturing strategy is essential to achieve this. China and the United States have already elevated food security within their national security agendas.
Do Animals Have Civilizations? Original
In 1928, naturalist Henry Beston famously wrote that our fellow animals are “gifted with the extension of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings,” he added. ”They are other nations.” Beston employed this turn of phrase to make a fundamental point: humankind is not the standard by which other species should be judged. That worldview would have come as a surprise to the leading thinkers from the Age of Discovery.
China wants to dominate future of food and it might just succeed
Ryan Huling I was invited to visit a discreet industrial building just outside Beijing’s historic city center. What I saw inside has the potential to radically restructure the global food system. kAm!66C:?8 E9C@F89 =23@C2E@CJ H:?5@HD 2E E96 }6H !C@E6:? u@@5 $4:6?46 2?5 %649?@=@8J x??@G2E:@? q2D6[ x H2E4965 2D 5@K6?D @7 E:DDF6 6?8:?66CD 2?5 3:@496>:DED E@:=65 2H2J DFCC@F?565 3J 46== 32?<D[ b\s AC:?E6CD 2?5 7=@@C\E@\46:=:?8 3:@C624E@CD[ :?
Commentary: China wants to dominate the future of food – and it might
In early February, I was invited to visit a discreet industrial building just outside Beijing’s historic city center. What I saw inside has the potential to radically restructure the global food system. Peering through laboratory windows at the New Protein Food Science and Technology Innovation Base, I watched as dozens of tissue engineers and biochemists toiled away surrounded by cell banks, 3-D printers and floor-to-ceiling bioreactors, in pursuit of 2026’s most elusive element: security.
China wants to dominate the future of food. And it might succeed
In early February, I was invited to visit a discreet industrial building just outside Beijing's historic city center. What I saw inside has the potential to radically restructure the global food system. Peering through laboratory windows at the New Protein Food Science and Technology Innovation Base, I watched as dozens of tissue engineers and biochemists toiled away surrounded by cell banks, 3-D printers and floor-to-ceiling bioreactors, in pursuit of 2026's most elusive element: security.
Commentary: China wants to dominate the future of food. And it might succeed
A woman selects pork products at a supermarket in Beijing on June 12, 2024. (Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty Images/TNS) In early February, I was invited to visit a discreet industrial building just outside Beijing's historic city center. What I saw inside has the potential to radically restructure the global food system.
Science & Society Companies: share cultivated meat breakthroughs publicly—here is how
Trends in Biotechnology Available online 23 March 2026 Companies: share cultivated meat breakthroughs publicly—here is how Author links open overlay panelRyan Huling 1 , Danai Georgiadou 2 Show more Abstract Cultivated meat could satisfy soaring global protein demand while dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the spread of zoonotic diseases such as avian flu.
Contributor: China wants to dominate the future of food. And it might succeed.
Skyrocketing demand for animal protein across China has exacerbated risks of land and water scarcity. (Getty Images) In early February, I was invited to visit a discreet industrial building just outside Beijing’s historic city center. What I saw inside has the potential to radically restructure the global food system.
China's 'new proteins' bet: A win for Singapore
On the edge of an unassuming industrial park near Yichang in Hubei province lies a monumental symbol of China’s future food ambitions. Operating round the clock, a small crew of control-room employees oversees legions of robotic arms as they harvest nutrient-dense proteins from giant bioreactors, which are then packaged for global export.
Connecting the Little Red Dots: Singapore's Emerging Blueprint for Future-Proof Food
Skip to main content Connecting the Little Red Dots: Singapore's Emerging Blueprint for Future-Proof Food Ryan Huling from The Good Food Institute Asia Pacific elaborates how Singapore is robustly cultivating a thriving alternative protein ecosystem. "As a resource-constrained urban city-state, global concerns on food resilience are more critical for us.
JUST IN: New public-private grant opportunity announced in Singapore
1 Aug 2025 It was just under a year ago that the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein officially launched at the National University of Singapore (NUS), establishing a new epicentre of cutting-edge alternative protein science in Southeast Asia. In addition to undertaking primary research by more than 20 principal investigators, the centre hosted a regional scientific symposium last month attended by top scientists from China, Australia, Japan, and other APAC innovation hubs.
BREAKING: Regulators approve cultivated meat sales in Australia
Asia Pacific just made history—again! Earlier today (18 June 2025), Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) officially announced Australia’s first-ever approval of a cultivated meat product, opening up a potentially lucrative new market for the cellular agriculture sector and setting an important precedent for global regulators. What exactly was approved?
Global patent data reveals China’s years-long commitment to scaling up cultivated meat
Earlier this year, China reaffirmed protein diversification as a central tenet of its national food strategy through a series of official policy announcements and public calls from lawmakers for “in-depth exploration, nutritional evaluation, and industrial production of alternative proteins.” Now, analysis by GFI has shined the spotlight on another indicator of China’s long-term commitment to food security: its assertive pursuit of global cultivated meat patents.
Science Talk: Blended meat could boost Asia’s food security
SINGAPORE – Consumer perception studies in Singapore and other South-east Asian countries show that plant-based meat is broadly viewed as an appealing menu option that, unfortunately, comes at a substantial cost. On average, plant-based meats cost 35 per cent more than their animal counterparts, even as some fall short of expectations on taste and texture.
In Asia, alternative proteins are the new clean energy
In August, bioengineers, chemists, plant biologists and food scientists based in China and Singapore came together in a closed hybrid conference with one ambitious goal: to unlock the massive economic and food-security promise of plant-based and cultivated meat. As biochemist Huang Dejian at the National University of Singapore highlighted at the start, Asian scientists are poised to play a crucial part.
Cultivated meat: research opportunities to advance cell line development
Cultivated meat offers an avenue to feed a growing population and reduce environmental burdens associated with conventional meat production. In this Science & Society paper, we outline challenges the industry is facing in obtaining robust cell lines for the development of cultivated meat products. Through an industry survey, several knowledge gaps in cell biology were identified and are presented as research opportunities here.
Asia will not get to net-zero without changing its diet - Ryan Huling
Due to the technical or legal reasons, readability mode is not available for this article. Thank you for your kind understanding. QOSHE - Asia will not get to net-zero without changing its diet - Ryan Huling Columnists Actual . Favourites . Archive Capping emissions requires shift to cultivated and plant-based meat © Nikkei Asian Review visit website
Unlocking mung bean's potential
Driven by growing concerns about the enormous ecological footprint of conventional meat, dairy and egg production, and enticed by the personal health benefits of a shift towards nutrient-dense foods, plant-based protein is on the upswing across Asia -- especially in Thailand.
Alternative protein is booming in Asia because it meets a genuine need
Beefless rendang : Investors are bullish on animal-free foods in Asia. GFI APAC Published Fri, Feb 24, 2023 · 05:50 AM DEFYING turbulent global economic headwinds, new data released by the Good Food Institute Asia Pacific (GFI APAC) proves one thing beyond doubt : alternative proteins—including meat, dairy, and eggs made from plants, microbes, and cultivated animal cells—are ascendant in Asia.
Skill shortage threatens Asia's 'future food' ambitions - Nikkei Asia
Article Details Author / Journalist: Ryan Huling Category: InvestingFinanceBusiness Markets: Topics: Source Website Secure: Yes (HTTPS) News Sentiment: Neutral Fact Checked: Legitimate Article Type: News Report Published On: 2022-12-10 @ 20:00:00 (8 hours ago) News Timezone: GMT +9:00 Ranking: #783 (out of 854 stories this day) News Source URL: news.google.com Language: English Article Length: 139 words Reading Time: 1 minutes read Sentences: 6 lines Sentence Length: 24 words per sentence...
"Cultivated meat" - APAC food startups get boost from historic agreement at Singapore International Agri-Food Week
With more than 30 stakeholders inking an MOU agreeing on the "cultivated" terminology to describe meat and other food products grown directly from animal cells, learn more about how the MOU is vital to the long-term success of the cultivated foods industry.
Commentary: Seafood can now be made from plants - but will consumers bite?
Commentary Alternative seafood products have the potential to dramatically reduce climate and food security pressures, but diners in Asia may not be sold yet, says Ryan Huling of the Good Food Institute APAC. 09 Oct 2022 06:00AM (Updated: 09 Oct 2022 06:00AM) SINGAPORE: Everywhere you look these days, new plant-based meats are being rolled out, from animal-free Whoppers at Burger King to plant-based chicken rice at Prive.
[기고] 지구를 위한 미식…당신은 `배양생선`을 드시겠습니까?
서울에 본사를 둔 푸드테크 스타트업 셀미트의 계획이 예정대로 진행되면, 자사의 주력 제품인 독도 새우 제품을 2024년에 선보인다. 그러나 셀미트의 새우는 기존 갑각류와 다른 점이 있다. 바다에서 온 것이 아니라는 것이다. 셀미트는 수생동물을 양식하거나 포획하지 않고 세포 배양을 통해 배양 해산물을 만들어낸다. 우리가 알고 있는 해산물과 생물학적으로 동일하지만 수은 오염이 없고 식품 매개 질병의 위험을 획기적으로 줄인 제품을 탄생시킨다. 해산물에 대한 소비자의 수요가 수생생물의 자체 보충 능력을 앞지르고 식량안보 위협에 대한 국제적 경각심이 증가하고 있는 시점에 이 기술이 등장했다. 유엔 식량농업기구(FAO)에 따르면, 상업용 어류 자원의 3분의 1이 지속 불가능한 수준으로 포획되고 있다. 많은 주요 시장에서 수요가 공급을 초과할 것이기 때문에 2030년까지 둔화될 것으로 예상된다. 해산물을 세포에서 직접 배양하는 세상이 도래하면서 해양 서식지는 필요한 '회복 기회'를 얻을 수 있을 것이다.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Ryan
Contact Ryan, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack