Yeah, I think some ways of reducing plant growth are often supported by environmentalists, including
less growing of crops in dry areas requiring irrigation (and instead growing more crops in regions where rain provides more of the water)
less irrigation of pastures and lawns
fewer artificial fertilizers
less nutrient pollution into water bodies
lowering atmospheric CO2 concentrations, which reduces the “CO2 fertilization effect” (though as you note, the overall impact of climate change on wild-animal suffering is unclear)
not genetically engineering plants to have higher yields.
Some other activities like encouraging palm-oil production (which destroys rainforests) are bad for the environment but may reduce poverty. (I should note that I’m unsure about the net impact of palm-oil production for wild-animal suffering.)
I agree that the question of how to lobby for these things without seeming like weirdos is tricky. It would be easier if society cared more about wild animals from a suffering-focused perspective, which can be one argument for starting with philosophical advocacy regarding those topics, though it seems unlikely that concern for wild-animal welfare or suffering-focused ethics will ever become mainstream (apart from weak forms of these things, like caring about charismatic megafauna or Buddhist philosophy about suffering). These philosophical views would also help for various far-future scenarios. But from the standpoint of trying to reduce some short-term suffering, especially if we worry about cluelessness for longer-term efforts, then this approach of doing philosophical advocacy would be too slow and indirect (except insofar as it contributes to movement building, leading some other people to pursue more concrete interventions).
So overall I may agree with you that for short-term, concrete impact, we should plausibly focus on things like stunning of wild-caught fish and so on. This is why I feel a lot of fuzzies about the Humane Slaughter Association and related efforts. That said, it does seem worth pondering more whether there are ways to direct money toward opposing irrigation subsidies and the like.
(Sorry for being slow to return here!)
Yeah, I think some ways of reducing plant growth are often supported by environmentalists, including
less growing of crops in dry areas requiring irrigation (and instead growing more crops in regions where rain provides more of the water)
less irrigation of pastures and lawns
fewer artificial fertilizers
less nutrient pollution into water bodies
lowering atmospheric CO2 concentrations, which reduces the “CO2 fertilization effect” (though as you note, the overall impact of climate change on wild-animal suffering is unclear)
not genetically engineering plants to have higher yields.
Some other activities like encouraging palm-oil production (which destroys rainforests) are bad for the environment but may reduce poverty. (I should note that I’m unsure about the net impact of palm-oil production for wild-animal suffering.)
I agree that the question of how to lobby for these things without seeming like weirdos is tricky. It would be easier if society cared more about wild animals from a suffering-focused perspective, which can be one argument for starting with philosophical advocacy regarding those topics, though it seems unlikely that concern for wild-animal welfare or suffering-focused ethics will ever become mainstream (apart from weak forms of these things, like caring about charismatic megafauna or Buddhist philosophy about suffering). These philosophical views would also help for various far-future scenarios. But from the standpoint of trying to reduce some short-term suffering, especially if we worry about cluelessness for longer-term efforts, then this approach of doing philosophical advocacy would be too slow and indirect (except insofar as it contributes to movement building, leading some other people to pursue more concrete interventions).
So overall I may agree with you that for short-term, concrete impact, we should plausibly focus on things like stunning of wild-caught fish and so on. This is why I feel a lot of fuzzies about the Humane Slaughter Association and related efforts. That said, it does seem worth pondering more whether there are ways to direct money toward opposing irrigation subsidies and the like.