Hi from 2026! You’re about to graduate and head into Applied Sciences—that analytical mind is going to be your superpower.
Right now, you probably don’t think twice about what’s on your dinner plate. You eat whatever mom makes and you want to join your friends at the fast food places. But I’ve been studying Effective Altruism (EA) and learned a sobering reality: factory farming. In the ’80s, this is becoming the silent standard. Imagine intelligent animals squeezed into cages so small they can’t move, living in darkness without fresh air.
Agricultural expert Bailey Norwood rates animal welfare from −10 to 10. Pigs and caged hens score a −5, meaning their lives involve so much suffering they would be better off dead. It’s a strange contradiction: we’re starting to treat pets like “fur babies,” yet we subject animals of similar intelligence to industrial misery.
You’ll want to go vegetarian immediately (delicious meat alternatives and vegetarian options on the menu will become more readily available), but as an “Applied Science” person, consider how to have an even bigger impact than just changing your own diet:
Earning to Give: Your future career will allow you to donate to high-impact charities like Mercy for Animals. One professional salary can fund campaigns that spare millions from those “-5” conditions.
Career Strategy: You can use your data and science skills to work directly for animal advocacy, fixing the food system from the inside.
Use that big heart and sharp mind to help those with the least power.
Dear Young Linda,
Hi from 2026! You’re about to graduate and head into Applied Sciences—that analytical mind is going to be your superpower.
Right now, you probably don’t think twice about what’s on your dinner plate. You eat whatever mom makes and you want to join your friends at the fast food places. But I’ve been studying Effective Altruism (EA) and learned a sobering reality: factory farming. In the ’80s, this is becoming the silent standard. Imagine intelligent animals squeezed into cages so small they can’t move, living in darkness without fresh air.
Agricultural expert Bailey Norwood rates animal welfare from −10 to 10. Pigs and caged hens score a −5, meaning their lives involve so much suffering they would be better off dead. It’s a strange contradiction: we’re starting to treat pets like “fur babies,” yet we subject animals of similar intelligence to industrial misery.
You’ll want to go vegetarian immediately (delicious meat alternatives and vegetarian options on the menu will become more readily available), but as an “Applied Science” person, consider how to have an even bigger impact than just changing your own diet:
Earning to Give: Your future career will allow you to donate to high-impact charities like Mercy for Animals. One professional salary can fund campaigns that spare millions from those “-5” conditions.
Career Strategy: You can use your data and science skills to work directly for animal advocacy, fixing the food system from the inside.
Use that big heart and sharp mind to help those with the least power.
Love, your 2026 Self