Iām a science journalist, based in France, most interested in covering effective animal advocacy issues like chicken and fish farming, invertebrate sentience, wild animal welfare, alt-proteins. I sometimes write articles about effective giving and AI safety.
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The urgency factor reminds me of a Charity Entrepreneurship blog post from a few years ago (which I canāt locate now) that emphasized the importance of considering windows of opportunity when prioritizing causes. For example, preventing the development of a new industry, like octopus farming, is particularly pressing now, because the industry is still nascent. Acting now could be far easier than trying to challenge a well-established industry 5 to 10 years down the line. By having the opportunity to intervene early, we may prevent more suffering, something that may be less accessible for mature industries. So I think I would place this āopportunity/āurgency factorā within ātractabilityā, as it influences our ability to address the issue effectively at a given point in time.
Is it possible to share more about how you recruited seven whistleblowers for Legal Impact for Chickens? Iām even more curious after reading the testimonial of LICās founder on your site, who says itās a very difficult thing to do.
Super interesting to read this list. I didnāt know half of the tools you mention. I work as a journalist, and although I sense the potential of using AI in my work, so far Iāve limited myself to some minor uses of ChatGPT. I think applying gwernās advice, and reflecting carefully on the valuable tasks an hypothetical outsourced human could perform for me, will help me in this area. So thanks for sharing!
Thanks for writing this. Iāve been interested in the suffering of farmed animals for ten years now, and Iām still discovering terrible things about their fate. One example is the treatment of breeding females chickens in the fast-growing broiler industry. The industry is facing what it calls the ābroiler breeder paradoxā, i.e. the fact that it has developed strains of chickens that put on weight very quickly, which is exactly what they are looking for to produce large volumes of cheap meat, but which has consequences for the reproductive performance of the breeding animals (who obviously share the same genetics). One of their way of ādealingā with this paradox is to subject breeding females to severe food restriction, which causes them chronic, distressing hunger. The Welfare Footprint Project has written on this.
In the case of human populations, the aversive nature of the sensation that accompanies food deprivation has been long used as a method of punishment and torture. Prolonged food deprivation has been described as āexcruciating until the point of becoming an unbearable source of painā, with the obsession with food dominating all thoughts, to a life-threatening point where one would risk their life for a small piece of bread.
Thanks for sharing this! One of the points that resonates most with me is the idea that animal advocacy has to deal with situations where the threshold for reaching the ānext levelā might be too high at the moment. Weāve all seen cases where animal advocates have gone to great lengths to create innovative, well-informed campaigns, but which failed to gain the traction needed to drive meaningful progress. Itās like their efforts create ripples but no tsunami. Itās sobering to see that you can put lots of smart work into the cause, and donāt get any substantial results because of external factors. Itās also dangerous because advocates might cling to the hope that the threshold is within reach, or that theyāre getting closer and closer, so they continue pouring resources into something that ultimately wonāt deliver.
I feel like this threshold thing is one reason why synergy between the various parts of the āecosystem of social changeā is promising. If each group within this ecosystem is trying their best, but independently, they may never gather enough momentum to break through the inertia and status quo. But by coordinating around a topic or campaign, a movement might be able to create sufficient waves to get to the ānext levelā, and get ambitious reforms passed that seemed unattainable years ago. Iāve recently come across some interesting initiatives on this front via the Social Change Lab, including organizations like The Ayni Institute, Breakthrough, Changing Ideas. Their goal is to build strong, mass social movements and to train and propel effective movement leaders. Thereās also Link for Change, which connects activists, lawyers and journalists to create synergy and amplify the impact of social movements.
Money is probably not the limiting factor here. What Iād love to see is a team of people crafting this kind of synergy among various actors for a major national campaign (perhaps around broiler chickens?). The skills required would include excellent project management, a network in various influential circles, a good grasp of the ways cultural change might happen, experience in the media and PRā¦ And yet, I agree that it may still not suffice.
Hi Ben! I found your account of the MHI shut down in Asterisk Magazine very inspiring.
Iām curious how, in your opinion, a charity culture could be foster in which this kind of courageous decision (shuting down projects that fail to meet the bar) is made more often and more easily, despite all the powerful incentives not to follow the evidence that you mention in the article.
I find that publicly sharing the shut down process plays a role in setting an example and fostering accountability on this matter (I also really liked the post about the Center for Effective Aid Policy shut down). Can you think of other ideas?
Congratulations! ONEI looks well placed to bridge the gap between the scientific literature on insect farming and the French publicās (lack of) knowledge of the subject. Canāt wait to see the first results.
What role do you think journalism can play in advancing the cause of farmed animals? Can you think of any promising topics journalists may want to prioritize in the European context in particular, i.e. topics that have the potential to unlock important gains for farmed animals if seriously investigated and publicized?
Thank you for the tips, I just added my bio :)
Iād love to see an āAnimal Welfare vs. AI Safety/āGovernance Debate Weekā happening on the Forum. The risks from AI cause has grown massively in importance in recent years, and has become a priority career choice for many in the community. At the same time, the Animal Welfare vs Global Health Debate Week demonstrated just how important and neglected the cause of animal welfare remains. I know several people (including myself) who are uncertain/ātorn about whether to pursue careers focused on reducing animal suffering or mitigating existential risks related to AI. It would help to have rich discussions comparing both causesās current priorities and bottlenecks, and a debate week would hopefully expose some useful crucial considerations.