At least until the Daly show cracks open the Overton window again ;)
Rethink Priorities (RP) conducted a āUS national poll of 4,446 Americans, adjusted to match a US nationally representative likely voter electorateā, and found ā65% of respondents thought honeybees could feel pain, 56% of respondents thought that ants could feel pain, and 52% of respondents thought termites could feel painā. I estimate effects on soil ants and termites are much larger than on target beneficiaries for āwelfare range as a fraction of that of humansā = ānumber of neurons as a fraction of that of humansā^0.19, which explains 78.6 % of the variance in the welfare ranges in Bob Fischerās book about comparing welfare across species.
I estimate effects on soil animals would still be much larger than those on the target beneficiaries for a welfare per animal-year of exactly 0 for animals with fewer neurons than those considered in Bobās book, and an exponent of the number of neurons of 0.19 which explains very well its estimates []. I calculate soil ants and termites have 2.91 and 1.16 times as many neurons as shrimp, so effects on them would still be relevant. I get the following increase in the welfare of soil ants and termites as a fraction of the increase in the welfare of the target beneficiaries for an exponent of 0.19 (the chicken welfare corporate campaigns would decrease animal welfare):
Rethink Priorities (RP) conducted a āUS national poll of 4,446 Americans, adjusted to match a US nationally representative likely voter electorateā, and found ā65% of respondents thought honeybees could feel pain, 56% of respondents thought that ants could feel pain, and 52% of respondents thought termites could feel painā. I estimate effects on soil ants and termites are much larger than on target beneficiaries for āwelfare range as a fraction of that of humansā = ānumber of neurons as a fraction of that of humansā^0.19, which explains 78.6 % of the variance in the welfare ranges in Bob Fischerās book about comparing welfare across species.