This is a big deal. Because this progress has compounded over multiple generations of hens, well over 300 million individual birds have now been spared life in a battery cage. And, assuming this progress sticks, it wonât be long before that number is a billion. I think this will be the most animals any animal welfare intervention has ever helped.
The Shrimp Welfare Project (SWP) estimates the electrical stunners they bought will be helping 3.3 billion shrimp per year once they are all operational, 11.0 (= 3.3*10^9/â(300*10^6)) times the 300 M hens helped by cage-free corporate campaigns. In terms of welfare, for my estimate of 0.0426 DALYs averted per shrimp helped by SWP, this has averted 141 MDALY (= 0.0426*3.3*10^9). For my estimates of 0.452 DALYs averted per hen-year improved by cage-free corporate campaigns, and 1.34 hen-years per hen, the campaigns avert 0.606 DALYs per hen (= 0.452*1.34), and have therefore averted 182 MDALY (= 0.606*300*10^6) in total, 1.29 (= 182â141) times as much as SWP has. There is lots of uncertainty in many numbers. I would say SWP over the past few years has increased the welfare of shrimps roughly as much as all cage-free corporate campaigns have increased the welfare of hens.
Accounting for soil nematodes, mites, and springtails, I think GiveWellâs top charities have increased animal welfare much more than cage-free corporate campaigns. I estimated GiveWellâs top charities are 8.05 (= 1.69/â0.210) times as cost-effective as cage-free corporate campaigns accounting for target beneficiaries and soil animals, and I also think GiveWellâs top charities have received much more funding, such that their cumulative impact has been much more than that of cage-free corporate campaigns.
Then advocates got to work. With fewer than a thousand full-time advocates globally, the movement waged campaigns that have now spared over 300 million hens from cages. Thatâs over 300,000 hens per advocate.
Interesting! Assuming the number of advocates increased from 0 to 1 k over 13 years[1], 2 k hours per advocate-year, an hourly rate of 25 $/âh, and 10 hen-years improved per hen helped due to cage-free corporate campaigns anticipating the transition to cage-free by 10 years, the cost-effectiveness would be 9.23 hen-years improved per $ (= 300*10^6*10/â((0 + 1)/â2*10^3*13*2*10^3*25)), which is 85.5 % (= 9.23/â10.8) of what I assumed in my analysis.
But take a moment to reflect how far weâve come. A mere 13 years ago, the Humane Society of the US, despairing of ever getting the US egg industry to go cage-free, backed a compromise to legislate an industry transition to larger âenriched cages.â When the pork industry â triggered by the specter of any farm animal welfare legislation â sank the compromise, it looked like battery cages were here for good.
Thanks for the post, Emma and Lewis!
The Shrimp Welfare Project (SWP) estimates the electrical stunners they bought will be helping 3.3 billion shrimp per year once they are all operational, 11.0 (= 3.3*10^9/â(300*10^6)) times the 300 M hens helped by cage-free corporate campaigns. In terms of welfare, for my estimate of 0.0426 DALYs averted per shrimp helped by SWP, this has averted 141 MDALY (= 0.0426*3.3*10^9). For my estimates of 0.452 DALYs averted per hen-year improved by cage-free corporate campaigns, and 1.34 hen-years per hen, the campaigns avert 0.606 DALYs per hen (= 0.452*1.34), and have therefore averted 182 MDALY (= 0.606*300*10^6) in total, 1.29 (= 182â141) times as much as SWP has. There is lots of uncertainty in many numbers. I would say SWP over the past few years has increased the welfare of shrimps roughly as much as all cage-free corporate campaigns have increased the welfare of hens.
Accounting for soil nematodes, mites, and springtails, I think GiveWellâs top charities have increased animal welfare much more than cage-free corporate campaigns. I estimated GiveWellâs top charities are 8.05 (= 1.69/â0.210) times as cost-effective as cage-free corporate campaigns accounting for target beneficiaries and soil animals, and I also think GiveWellâs top charities have received much more funding, such that their cumulative impact has been much more than that of cage-free corporate campaigns.
Interesting! Assuming the number of advocates increased from 0 to 1 k over 13 years[1], 2 k hours per advocate-year, an hourly rate of 25 $/âh, and 10 hen-years improved per hen helped due to cage-free corporate campaigns anticipating the transition to cage-free by 10 years, the cost-effectiveness would be 9.23 hen-years improved per $ (= 300*10^6*10/â((0 + 1)/â2*10^3*13*2*10^3*25)), which is 85.5 % (= 9.23/â10.8) of what I assumed in my analysis.