Cross-posted from the Effective Altruism Forum. Original link here. Co-written with a language model. TL;DR: Large language models like ChatGPT influence the choices of hundreds of millions of users — including when it comes to food. Yet in ambiguous cases (e.g. “Recommend me a quick dinner”), ChatGPT often defaults to factory-farmed meat dishes. This post argues that such defaults are not neutral and that OpenAI’s assistant could reduce enormous suffering by subtly favoring plant-based meals when no preference is stated. Drawing on behavioral science, AI alignment principles, and messaging research from Pax Fauna and the Sentience Institute, I suggest concrete steps OpenAI could take and invite readers to send feedback to OpenAI to shape the ethical defaults of future AI systems. ---------------------------------------- Factory farming likely causes more suffering than all human violence combined. This claim might seem extreme at first, but the numbers back it up. Over 80 billion land animals and up to 3 trillion aquatic animals are killed each year for food, most enduring severe suffering for weeks or months. Confinement, mutilation without pain relief, and deprivation of natural behaviors are common in standard industrial practices. For example: * Broiler chickens suffer from painful bone deformities and lameness due to unnatural growth rates. * Egg-laying hens are confined in cages so small they cannot spread their wings. * Fish are killed by asphyxiation, freezing, or live gutting — often without stunning. If we conservatively assume each of 50 billion land animals experiences just two months of intense suffering per year, that’s over 8 billion animal-years of suffering annually. This dwarfs even the cumulative human toll of organized violence throughout history (around 2 billion human-years of suffering in the 20th century, which is likely an overestimate). In terms of suffering intensity, duration, and sheer numbers, factory farming plausibly exceed

Hi FAST! The ongoing egg crisis continues to challenge the foodservice industry with shortages and soaring prices—but smart, plant-based substitutions offer operators easy, sustainable solutions to supply chain volatility. Last month, Greener by Default hosted a webinar with three culinary leaders to share their tips, tricks, and practical takeaways for foodservice professionals looking to looking to make their menus more resilient and cost-effective through subtle, plant-based swaps, without compromising on taste or diner experience.  The insights and experiences shared by our three expert chefs were so incredibly helpful and action-oriented, we've distilled them down into three key strategies and published them on our blog, and created a highlight reel so as many foodservice professionals as possible can access the knowledge that was shared during the session.  Please feel free to read, watch, and share these links with anyone you think could benefit from this discussion around navigating the egg crisis: Blog post: https://www.greenerbydefault.com/blog/navigating-egg-crisis-recap  Highlight reel:

Hello everyone! We’re pleased to announce our first cage-free commitment from a supermarket: Franco Supermercado, a retailer with four stores in Arequipa and one in Lima, has committed to selling only 100% cage-free eggs by the end of 2026. Commitment link: You can see the publication of the commitment in this LINK. Scale: National (Perú) Timeline:  Compromiso Verde first established contact during a visit to Arequipa in April 2023. We followed up during a second trip in September 2024, where we arranged an in-person meeting. After several months without a response, we successfully reengaged the company by sending a corporate gift for Friendship Day. This gesture led to two additional face-to-face meetings in February 2025, during which we also explored how Compromiso Verde could support them in developing a cage-free egg farm through our PROBA certification program for local producers. ARBA began conversations with Franco Supermercado in November 2024 through emails, WhatsApp messages, and phone calls. Who: Compromiso Verde and ARBA Unsuccessful Tactics: None. Successful Tactics: In-person meetings at the company’s offices in Lima and Arequipa, delivered a corporate gift, and offered support for cage-free egg production through the PROBA program. Scalability: This commitment is significant as it comes from a supermarket chain with locations in Peru's two largest cities. Follow Up: We will stay in touch to request reports and validate compliance with the commitment.  Thank you!

Hi All, The Animal Legal Defense Fund is hiring for a Chief Advancement Officer.  Full details below and the direct link to the posting is here: https://recruiting.paylocity.com/Recruiting/Jobs/Details/3259107 ALDF Chief Advancement Officer Job Type: Full-time Description Who We Are: The Animal Legal Defense Fund’s mission is to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. The Animal Legal Defense Fund accomplishes this mission by filing high-impact lawsuits to protect animals from harm, providing free legal assistance and training to prosecutors to assure that animal abusers are held accountable for their crimes, supporting tough animal protection legislation and fighting legislation harmful to animals, and providing resources and opportunities to law students and professionals to advance the emerging field of animal law.  Role Description: The Chief Advancement Officer will be responsible for all aspects of institutional fundraising, donor engagement, marketing and communications, advancement operations, and data management. The Chief Advancement Officer will design and execute effective strategies and processes and develop the infrastructure necessary to raise the organization’s visibility and reach strategic goals. The Chief Advancement Officer will work closely with the Senior Leadership team, the Board of Directors, and a dedicated team of fund development, marketing, and communications professionals to advance ALDF’s mission and goals. This position will lead and cultivate an advancement team, diversify and grow revenue streams, build robust systems and processes to fuel and sustain fund development, strengthen ALDF’s reputation and brand to amplify impact, deepen the fund development partnership with the Board of Directors, and collaborate with other members of the Senior Leadership team to support a health culture and achieve shared goals. The Chief Advancement Officer will be an experienced leader with deep know