Hide table of contents
by Noa Weiss
Sep 17 20242 min read 0

1

Farmed AnimalsInstitutional CampaignsEducation & Advocacy
Frontpage

Overview

These are my notes of the "State of the Movement for Farmed Animals" from EAGxBerkeley, given by Monica Chen, Executive Director of the New Roots Institute.

While I did my best to capture highlights, these notes are not exhaustive - Monica's talk was full of interesting information indeed.

==================

Talk Notes

“Animals need EA”

  • Marketing of farmed animal products shows green hills and happy animals. That’s not the case.
  • Q: How many animals are killed for meat, dairy, eggs in the US every year? 
    • A: 10 billion
  • Q: How many of those are raised on factory farms? 
    • A: 99%
  • Animals in the industry are treated very inhumanely

 

The farmed animal advocacy movement is very varied. You have farmer advocates, people concerned about health, etc. 

 

"How Do We End Factory Farming?” - Types of Interventions

  • Learn from past, successful movements?
  • People have different timelines for that. That results in different interventions.

Supply and Demand Strategies

  • Impacting Supply
    • Idea: if we change the supply, that will change the demand.
      • Example: impossible burger at Burger King
    • Alternative proteins
    • Disadvantages to these strategies:
      • You need to make sure there’s “price, taste and convenience” parity, which is hard to do
  • Impacting Demand
    • Via raising awareness
      • Via movies/shows. Ex: game changers
        • Problem: very hard to get into mainstream media channels
      • Leafleting
        • Problem: hard to know if it even works
        • Advantage: it’s a low-barrier entry, an easy way to get people involved in the community.

Corporate Outreach

  • Advantages:
    • High leverage. Few decision makers that have tons of impact. 
  • Disadvantages:
    • Easy for corps to say they’ll do something and not follow through. Then they get the positive press for the promise but don’t pay the price on flaking.

Law and Policy

  • Using those to get lots of press
  • A lot of change where we have key allies

Sanctuaries

  • Disadvantages: very expensive with very little impact (low ROI).
  • Advantages: 
    • An easy way for people to get their start in the movement
    • Education for general population (schools etc.)
      • (bigger educational impact for the ones closer to urban areas)

"Building the Movement" Organizations

 

New Roots Institute Strategy

  • Educating
  • Recruiting
  • Training
  • Positioning (i.e. having animal advocates in mission-adjacent organizations.)
    • “Biggest message: each of us is uniquely positioned to create change” 

1

0
0

Reactions

0
0
Comments


No comments on this post yet.
Be the first to respond.
Curated and popular this week
 · 3d ago · 1m read
 · 
Big news for aquatic animal welfare! UK retailer Co-op has made a groundbreaking commitment to eliminate two of the most harmful practices in shrimp farming. This milestone underscores the power of strategic advocacy and collaboration in transforming the food industry for the better. ✅ Ablation-Free Shrimp Supply Chain: Co-op has confirmed that 100% of the prawns in its supply chain are now free from eyestalk ablation, a painful and unnecessary procedure inflicted on female broodstock shrimp to induce egg production. ✅ Commitment to Humane Slaughter: Co-op will implement electrical stunning for all farmed prawns by 2027, ending the industry-standard practice of asphyxiation on ice—one of the cruellest forms of slaughter. Co-op’s policy, created with support from Aquatic Life Institute (ALI) and other organizations, will impact an estimated 37,837,837* prawns annually. This decision follows in the footsteps of commitments from leading UK retailers such as M&S, Waitrose, Tesco, and Sainsbury’s, reinforcing the momentum toward industry-wide change. Through the Corporate Initiative, ALI, works directly with corporations to integrate strong animal welfare policies into their supply chains. Our team provided Co-op with expert recommendations, technical resources Why This Matters for the Movement Every year, 630 billion farmed shrimp are slaughtered for consumption, with up to 2 million female broodstock shrimp subjected to eyestalk ablation. Nearly 50% of farmed shrimp die before reaching slaughter age due to poor welfare conditions. Let’s keep up the momentum and push for even greater protections for aquatic animals! *This calculation is a rough estimate using the average weight of whiteleg shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) at the time of harvest, and annual production volume reported by Co-op.  
 · 7h ago · 7m read
 · 
Rebellyous Foods is a growth-stage, plant-based meat start-up working to make our products available and affordable for everyone through the design of novel manufacturing technology.  We are seeking a smart, energetic, flexible, and detail-oriented Head of Operations who enjoys making a difference, leading a team, and takes pride in working in a fast-paced, constantly changing, technically challenging manufacturing start-up environment. The Head of Operations will manage production, supply chain, food safety, product development, and logistics, as well as strategically grow these departments to meet internal and external volume growth and cost reduction goals.     Flexibility, hard work, and keen follow through are critical for success for employees in a start-up environment. Frequent after hours and weekend work are required. A commitment to excellence and focus on achieving results is critical.  This position is an extraordinary opportunity to join the growth stage of a fast growing, mission-focused start-up working to change the meat processing industry to address climate change and democratize access to climate-friendly foods for everyone. This position reports directly to the CEO.   What we are looking for:  At Rebellyous, we believe in building the change you wish to see in the world, and as such, strong interest in our mission is key to this position. We are a small team of professionals working to make an impact by bringing healthier, climate-friendly foods to kids in public schools, patients and workers in hospitals, the incarcerated and cafeterias across the nation. We believe that everyone should have access to plant-based foods, and neither price nor desire for high quality should be a barrier.  Our Head of Operations should be excited to roll up their sleeves, work in-person with the team daily, travel frequently and get stuff done to drive our mission forward with a strong sense of urgency.  We value dedication to excellence and impact, and we nee
Recent opportunities
1
Have a passion for writing? Apply for THL's Writer & Editor role!
Christina Sargsyan
· 2h ago · 1m read
0
0
1
Rethink Priorities is Hiring – Senior Researcher in Animal Welfare
eda
· 1d ago · 1m read
0
0
2
Compassion in World Farming is Hiring: Senior Executive Assistant to Global CEO
KayleighDCIWF
· 2d ago · 4m read
0
0
View more