What Can We Do About Factory Farming?
Summary
Thom Norman, co-founder of FarmKind, shared his insights at our recent conference in London about how individuals can improve the welfare of factory-farmed animals through effective giving. He discussed the power of effective donation strategies, the importance of supporting top-rated charities, and how FarmKind is making it easier for people to make a meaningful impact. His talk emphasised the need for strategic donations, and the importance of long-term commitment to animal welfare.
FarmKind and Effective Giving
Thom began by discussing the power of targeted donations and how FarmKind connects donors with charities that focus on improving the welfare of factory-farmed animals. He explained that while many people want to contribute, they often don’t know how to make their donations as effective as possible:
"FarmKind allows you to take the guesswork out of charitable giving. By choosing top-rated charities and splitting donations between those and your personally favoured causes, you can be confident that your money is being put to the best use."
He emphasised that the real impact comes from supporting organisations that are proven to be highly effective, ensuring that every donation has a lasting effect on animal welfare:
"Donors want to know that their contributions are making a real difference. By supporting charities with a track record of success, you ensure your donations are not just a gesture, but a meaningful change."
Maximising Donations and Impact
A key part of Thom’s talk focused on how FarmKind maximises the impact of donations. He explained that the platform not only allows users to split their donations but also boosts the total donation amount through matching funds, increasing the overall contribution to animal welfare causes:
"One of the powerful features of FarmKind is its ability to match donations, making your contribution go further. This means that even a small donation can have a significant impact, thanks to the platform’s matching mechanism."
Thom stressed that this amplification of funds is a key factor in achieving more substantial outcomes in the fight to improve factory farm conditions:
"When we give through FarmKind, our donations are automatically multiplied, which significantly increases the potential for positive change. It’s a great way for individuals to have a larger effect without needing to make larger contributions."
Empowering Donors and Long-Term Commitment
A major theme of Thom’s talk was the idea that everyone can make a difference, no matter how small the donation. He believes that by using FarmKind, donors can make an ongoing, lasting impact on the welfare of factory-farmed animals:
"Every donation, no matter how small, adds up over time. FarmKind helps donors become part of a long-term solution by providing a platform that allows them to consistently support causes they believe in."
Thom emphasised that long-term engagement, even with modest contributions, leads to lasting change in the fight against factory farming. He urged the audience to stay committed to the problem area and continue supporting organisations that are working toward improving animal welfare.
Closing Thoughts
Thom concluded by reinforcing the idea that effective, informed donations are one of the most powerful ways individuals can contribute to improving the lives of factory-farmed animals. He encouraged people to use FarmKind as a tool for making a bigger difference:
"FarmKind isn’t just a donation platform; it’s a way to ensure your support is going to the right places, making the biggest possible impact on animal welfare."
To summarise:
Maximise Your Impact: Use platforms like FarmKind to boost the power of your donations through matching funds and effective allocation.
Support Proven Solutions: Focus on donating to top-rated charities with a track record of success to ensure your contributions make a real difference.
Make Every Donation Count: Even small contributions can add up over time when strategically directed, leading to lasting change in animal welfare.
Empower Others: Help others make informed choices about where to donate and how they can multiply their impact for maximum results.
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00:00:08
So, Tom is the co-founder of Farm Team, a donation platform improving the welfare of factory farmed animals by connecting donors with super-effective charities. Farm helps to make a meaningful impact by splitting their donations between personally favored charities and animal welfare organizations while also visiting the donations before confirming them for charity. Tom is also involved in the entrepreneurship incubation program, where he launched the high-impact farm.
00:00:52
Tom has a diverse background that includes working as a solicitor in the UK government legal department, where he gained experience in judicial litigation. His prior roles include senior account management positions in communications, helping startups and medium-sized organizations with PR, digital marketing, and securing media coverage in outlets such as the Financial Times. He holds a Master of Laws from the University of London and a Legal Practitioner Course distinction from law school.
00:01:31
I had the pleasure of speaking with him recently. What struck me was his innovative approach, and it was really interesting across all cause areas. So, please do enjoy the talk, and submit any questions for the slide up to go. I'm going to start by pressing the button.
00:02:14
Alright, so what we're going to do is start off with a thought experiment that I think will be somewhat familiar. Imagine you're walking through a park and you come across a lovely lake. Fortunately, there are no children drowning in the lake today, so you get to keep your shoes. But instead, you see near the lake a little bird in a cage. It's got some food, it's got some water, but it's stuck in the cage. The cage is so small that it can't even open its wings. It can't really move around, and you can't see anyone around. No negligent parents, but there's definitely a negligent bird owner today.
00:02:40
So you root around your pockets, and you've got a 50p. You think you can just about pick the lock for this cage with your 50p, but you're probably going to trash the 50p since you're not an expert locksmith. You were going to donate that 50p to the Against Malaria Foundation (AMF). So, what you can do is give your 50p to AMF, or you can save this little bird from its hand.
00:02:56
Now, I'm not here to tell you which of those options is the right one, but actually, when it comes to farmed animals, this is where we are. It costs about 50-85p to save one chicken from a life stuck in a cage. So when we're thinking about farmed animals, I think the key thing that I want to start with is that you can do an extraordinarily large amount of good with an extraordinarily small amount of money or other resources. I think this is a good place to start when we're thinking about the issue of factory farming and what we can do.
00:03:17
As I mentioned, I'm Tom, co-founder of Farm K. What we try to do is help people who care about animals to find ways to help with the issue of factory farming without changing their diet. One of the key things people often talk about when it comes to animal welfare is going vegan. It's probably not the most effective thing you can do, and we agree with this. It’s a good thing, but it's not the most effective. What we try to help people do, particularly, is to donate to super-effective charities that can make a really big difference in the lives of factory-farmed animals and to help solve this problem overall, moving us toward a world without factory farming.
00:03:49
Now, when it comes to factory farming, we talk to a lot of people about this issue, and the big thing that comes up, whether it's talking to EA (effective altruism) people or just people in the public, is that almost nobody thinks, "Yeah, factory farming, it's great. I'm pro-factory farming." What they do think is that there’s nothing we can do about it. It seems like such a big problem, and in fact, this is the scale. This is an aerial photograph of a factory farm, just to underline the literal size of the problem, which can make it feel like there’s nothing we can really do about this. It's just outside of our control.
00:04:53
One of the exciting things about the effective approach that we take within this community is that we can move past that and say, actually, this issue is tractable. If you do the right projects, if you work on the right approaches, and if you look at the evidence, you can actually make a lot of progress on this issue. Indeed, I think the end of factory farming is, if we look at a broad enough time scale, more or less inevitable. Our project is to try to speed that up, so that there’s as little damage as possible to animal suffering and other things.
00:05:20
So, the question is not "Can this be done?" but "How quickly can we do this?"
00:05:23
Today, I want to go through three key things. Firstly, I’m going to start with why I care about this issue. For many of you, this won’t be super new, but just in case, if you're new to this issue, I want to start there. Secondly, we’ll go through some of the broad themes about the things that I think are particularly effective interventions. These are things that we’re excited about. Lastly, I’ll discuss some practical ways you can make an impact with your career and your life on this issue.
00:06:14
So, firstly, factory farming isn’t just about animal suffering; it affects people, the planet, and animals.
00:06:47
To start with the planet, you may know that factory animal agriculture, which includes the vast majority of factory farms, is responsible for between 14% and 19% of global greenhouse gas emissions, depending on who you ask and when you’re asking, which is more than the transport sector. This includes direct emissions from animals, like cows and sheep that produce a lot of methane, as well as nitrous oxide from fertilizers. Deforestation is also a big part of this problem.
00:07:23
When you put animals in warehouses indoors and want them to grow as quickly as possible and produce as many animal products as possible, what you need to do is feed them the most high-protein, rich food sources. So, what we do is cut down large amounts of rainforest and use a lot of agricultural land (about 80%) to grow crops to feed animals.
00:08:01
This produces only about 17% of global calories and 37% of the world’s protein supply. This system is very inefficient in terms of producing calories and protein. Deforestation has a number of problems, including biodiversity loss, and it also makes it harder for the planet to cope with greenhouse gases. But the exciting thing is that if we can reduce animal agriculture, we could make a big impact on climate change.
00:09:01
Methane is one of the greenhouse gases that breaks down in the atmosphere fastest, and we could potentially send a lot of it back to forest land, meaning we could start reversing climate change if we get a grip on the issue of animal agriculture.
00:09:33
Factory farming is also a problem for our health. Most pandemics are zoonotic diseases, meaning they start in animals. When you crowd lots of animals together in small, unhygienic spaces, you create ideal conditions for diseases to mutate into something that can infect humans. For example, bird flu is much more deadly than COVID, and factory farming conditions make it more likely for such diseases to spread.
00:10:09
Antimicrobial resistance is another huge problem. We feed a large amount of antibiotics to animals to stop them from getting diseases, but this leads to superbugs. By maintaining factory farming, we are endangering our health and the health of future generations in very serious ways.
00:10:40
If you don’t care about animal suffering, you should still care about factory farming because it’s a major biothreat. The Archbishop mentioned the need to keep food cheap for people, and while I agree that people need food, factory farming actually makes it harder to feed the world. By switching to a plant-based diet, we could feed four billion more people with the same amount of agricultural land, making it a key solution to global poverty and hunger.
00:12:17
Finally, on the animal suffering side, the number of animals being farmed has increased dramatically, especially in places like Asia and Africa, where protections for animals are the weakest. This is a big issue, but the good news is that we're finding cost-effective interventions that make a difference for animals.
00:13:22
About 100 billion animals are farmed each year, with 70-80% of animals in factory farms. These farms involve inhumane practices, and animals often suffer from poor living conditions. This is the reality for billions of sentient beings every year.
00:15:29
But now, let’s move on to some of the more positive aspects of the work being done to address factory farming. I think it’s important to focus on solutions. What can we do about this problem? There are two broad areas of work: improving the welfare of animals today and moving past factory farming in the future.
00:16:28
The first area is improving the welfare of animals today. It’s crucial that we address the lives of animals currently in factory farms. But it’s equally important to look at the future and find ways to move beyond factory farming, building a sustainable food system that does not rely on these cruel practices. This involves shifts in food production, technology, and consumer behavior.
00:17:19
The second area of focus is moving past factory farming. This is a longer-term goal but an incredibly important one. We’re seeing increasing advancements in alternative protein sources, such as plant-based products and lab-grown meats. These innovations could help reduce our reliance on factory farming and create a more sustainable and ethical food system.
00:17:45
When it comes to alternative proteins, we’ve seen significant progress in the past few years. Companies are producing plant-based meat alternatives that are incredibly similar in taste and texture to animal-based products. This makes it easier for consumers to make ethical choices without sacrificing the foods they love. Moreover, lab-grown meats are becoming more affordable and efficient, which could eventually lead to the widespread availability of cruelty-free meat products.
00:18:18
As a result of these innovations, factory farming could eventually become obsolete. In fact, a future where we no longer need to farm animals for food is within our reach. But it requires collaboration across industries, governments, and organizations to make it a reality.
00:18:42
So, what can you do to help accelerate this change? The answer lies in two key areas: advocating for policy changes and supporting effective organizations.
00:18:57
Policy advocacy is crucial. By supporting laws that ban factory farming practices or promote alternatives, we can create systemic change. Governments can provide incentives for companies to shift towards plant-based or lab-grown alternatives. Moreover, they can impose stricter regulations on factory farming to ensure better treatment of animals.
00:19:18
Supporting effective organizations is another powerful way to make an impact. By donating to organizations working to end factory farming or reduce animal suffering, you can amplify your impact. There are many charities dedicated to improving animal welfare, advancing alternative proteins, and advocating for policy changes.
00:19:39
At Farm K, for example, we help individuals direct their donations to the most effective charities. We focus on maximizing the impact of each donation, ensuring that your money goes to the organizations making the biggest difference for animals today.
00:19:59
In addition to donating, you can also get involved with organizations by volunteering or supporting campaigns that promote animal welfare and alternatives to factory farming. There are many ways to contribute, whether it’s through advocacy, spreading awareness, or helping to fund research and development.
00:20:18
Lastly, one of the most effective ways you can help is by making mindful choices as a consumer. As more people demand plant-based and lab-grown alternatives, it encourages companies to invest in these products. The more popular these alternatives become, the less reliant we will be on factory farming.
00:20:40
So, to summarize, the key to solving the issue of factory farming lies in three main areas: supporting effective charities, advocating for policy change, and helping to shift consumer behavior. Through these actions, we can reduce the demand for factory farmed products and accelerate the transition to a more ethical and sustainable food system.
00:20:56
Got some evidence there are some clear outputs that we can measure. This is a change for animals, so we can quantify it. It's great if you love your cost-efficiency analysis, I think that corporate campaigns are a great place to go, but they're not the only work that we can do. And I think, um, lobbying and working with government is another quite exciting area. Um, I think one of the sort of slight habits on this is I think there are there's a lot of variation in what are like good lobbying campaigns and what are not so good lobbying campaigns. Um, and you have to think carefully about that and strategically, but, um, the Danish Vegetarian Foundation, which is here, have done some really good examples of some particularly effective campaigns.
00:21:02
I believe we are on the cusp of major change, and with each step we take, we move closer to a world where factory farming is no longer a part of our food system. But to make that happen, it’s going to take all of us working together, pushing for change, and making smarter, more ethical choices in the way we live our lives. Thank you very much.
00:21:27
So, what they've done is working in Denmark to, um, push the Danish government to release funds for a plant-based, uh, for supporting plant-based, uh, food and supporting farmers to transition out of, um, using animal products. And they helped to secure, um, 175 million EUR, um, for this.
00:21:59
They also successfully sued the Danish Crown, who are a major pork producer, for greenwashing, um, some of their, um, their pork products, um, and took court—won this case, which also led to a number of, um, supermarkets in Denmark refusing to put these greenwashing labels onto, uh, these products. So, they're doing some great work to both pressure the government to implement policies that can help us to reduce the amount of, uh, we products we're using and also doing some great work to kind of myth-bust around some of the, um, corporate interests that are trying to get people to think that, you know, these foods are, are not a problem from a climate point of view.
00:22:33
Um, so they are again, as I say, effective charity, not the only example working in the space, but one that is, um, definitely doing some great work. And then the final, um, area that I think is, um, particularly important, again, to this point about moving, transitioning away from, um, uh, FR altogether, is the producing a new food system that can work to give us alternative, um, the cultivated meat and alternative protein space is quite exciting. It's not by no means without its challenges, but this is essentially the ability to produce both foods major plants and also foods that are made of animal cells, so, you know, exactly biologically indistinct from, um, animal products, but without the need for sentient beings to be raised and slaughtered in order to produce these, these things.
00:23:07
These, um, we have now, uh, licensed products for sale in Israel, uh, Singapore, and the United States. Um, and the Good Food Institute is a great example of an organization that is spearheading this work. They work, um, to support organizations, companies, working in the space with research, with funding, with lobbying support to try to create an environment where these products, um, really can grow and compete.
00:23:41
And I think one of the things I would underline is, because it can seem a bit strange to sort of do nonprofit work to support for-profit companies, but the, the meat industry is a, is in, when it comes to agriculture, the meat industry is the largest, um, recipient of, um, subsidies. Most subsidies actually go to the largest organizations within this space. So, if you don't, if we simply left it up to the market for whether we're going to eat animals or we're going to eat, um, eat alternative proteins, then, um, the meat industry is definitely playing on a very tilted playing field.
00:24:11
Um, so what the work of GFI is really important in trying to create even just a little bit more parity when it comes to, um, these companies versus, versus the meat industry. I think that's important too.
00:24:48
So, these are, um, I'm running out of time, these are some particular three particular examples of buckets of work: corporate campaigning, um, lobbying and policy work, and, um, supporting the, the, um, transition to animal-free food systems. Um, but what can you do about this? So, if you are excited by these, these types of work, you want to work on this issue, what is it that you can do?
00:25:26
So, the two key bottlenecks in this space are funding and talent. So, I'm going to speak very briefly about those. Uh, instantly this, this is I asked CH BC for a picture of David and Gia, and this is what it, um, which is terrible, so maybe an intervention is like basic Bible study for AI or something, so you just like do a better job, but anyway, um, the, the meat industry is worth about $2 trillion. Um, the, the amount of money that is donated to charities working on factory farming is about $20 million to $290 million a year. So, it's about a thousand times less money than the meat industry. And then the amount of that that's actually going to, like, effective charities that are using that money well is going to even less.
00:26:04
So, this really is a David and Goliath story, but if David is the size of a normal man, Goliath in this case, the world's atmosphere comes up to about his naval, right? So, this is the level of scale, which particularly, even, even more so underlines how impressive it is that organizations like THL, DVF, and others are making the progress that they are on really an absolutely tiny amount of money versus the, the problem that they're dealing with.
00:26:31
But what this does mean is that there simply isn't enough money in the space to both fund these organizations. They all have funding gaps, um, and then also look at other things we can do. So, the movement is still fairly young, um, I've mentioned three things that I think have worked. If we were doing a talk on, like, Global Health, we could mention, you know, external day, mentioning things that have good evidence for them. There is a lot of unexplored space in the animal, in the animal space, and a lot of things that we could look at and might be quite exciting interventions and yet don't maybe get the funding that they need to be fully properly explored because it is just so underfunded.
00:26:58
So, more money would both allow us to scale the things that work really well and also explore the space and find new interventions that possibly will be even more effective than ones we have now. So, I think a really good example, actually, what Dustin does on insects, this is a brand new space, potentially extremely cost-effective and exciting, um, and something that is already, um, struggling for as a, as a space struggling for funding. So, there's all these kinds of things that we need to explore and look at. Um, funding is the key bottleneck for all this stuff.
00:27:25
Oh, yeah, I'll skip over that. But, um, yeah, actually, so this is one, um, thing I'll mention. So, what we, I mentioned right at the beginning that we are about trying to help factory farm animals without changing your diet. This is a tool we made to sort of underline and do exactly that. So, if you go to CompassionCalculator.org or just look it up on our website, we built this nifty tool where you can put in exactly what you eat in terms of your meat products and see, based on the cost-efficiency of the charities we support, how much money you would need to donate to do approximately the same amount of good for animals as your diet is impacting them. And the average world average Western meat eater would only need to donate $23 a month to roughly offset the impact of their diet, which I think both underlines why maybe going vegan isn't actually the most impactful thing you can do. You can, you can double it, if you go to $50, you'd be doing twice as much good, roughly speaking, as going vegan would be.
00:28:26
But it also, I think again underlines just how, you know, how, um, effective some of these charities are in terms of the outcomes that they make. Um, so, yeah, the second, um, piece that I wanted to touch on is, um, Talent. So, this is the second, um, bottleneck. I reached out to this organization here and careers to ask them about because they are really the experts in this space about what they see as the key bottlenecks for talent, and I would definitely recommend them if you want to think about creating careers as a really good place to go for resources, training, um, and also, they have a job support where you can simply find jobs that you think would fit your skills.
00:29:00
But they highlighted, um, to me, to me, too, globally, the new, the key, sort of the key bottlenecks for talent are particularly in the areas of senior leadership, um, and particularly senior leadership with specialists, um, specialists in things like operation specialists and, and finance specialists. These are, um, particular issues for, um, organizations. And then interestingly, while it used to be the case particularly in Europe that fundraisers were like the next thing for senior leadership, now they're saying that, like, people who want to do and are working on campaigning is now more of a gap for organizations than fundraisers.
00:29:37
So if you think you have a particular flair for campaigning or you're just interested in this kind of work, campaign organizing and things like this, this could be a really impactful place to use those skills that you have. This is one of the key bottlenecks in the space, and something definitely worth either up-skilling yourself in or thinking about directly jumping into.
00:30:46
Yeah, I think that might be it. Yes, thank you very much. We'll move on to questions. I think we've got one question on the slide at the moment, so please do keep on adding or feel free to pick your hand up. But I think it's a good one to start—do big differences in culinary culture, taste versus texture? I mean, the alternative proteins developed for Westerners might not work in China.
00:30:52
Yeah, so I think, I mean, I think it is a real challenge. And it’s one of the reasons why one of the most exciting areas in terms of alternative proteins is this kind of fermentation-based protein. Um, so the work that's being done by companies like Perfect Day or by companies that are looking at producing dairy, for example, or eggs using fermentation, that's, I think, potentially very exciting. But at the same time, I think what you're highlighting is really important, which is that we can't just look at Western tastes and, you know, alternative proteins for us, because different cultures have very different tastes.
00:31:23
And a lot of people in places like China, Southeast Asia, have different preferences for texture, for taste, and so on. So, I think the key to making alternative proteins work in those areas will be making sure that the products match those preferences. And I think, to some extent, it’s already happening. There are companies now that are focused on making plant-based meat alternatives for, you know, Chinese markets, for Southeast Asian markets, specifically tailored to the flavor profiles and textures that people are used to.
00:31:52
So, I think it’s a real opportunity for those companies that are thinking about global markets, but it’s also an area where we have to be careful not to just assume that what works in one market will work in another. But yeah, I mean, it's a great point.
00:32:05
Any other questions? Over here.
00:32:10
Audience: I think you mentioned earlier, you were saying that, for example, the corporate campaigns around, like, shifting to plant-based, that they can actually be quite effective. Do you think, though, that we should focus more on changing people's behaviors or getting the systems in place so that the alternatives are just, like, the default?
00:32:26
Yeah, I think both are really important. So, on the one hand, I think it’s great to change consumer behavior where we can, and there’s, you know, there's a lot of evidence to suggest that if you just get people to reduce their meat consumption by a small amount, that can have a really significant impact on the environment and on animal welfare.
00:32:45
But on the other hand, I do think, um, long term, we have to focus on the systems. So, for example, if we want to get to a point where eating animal products is the exception rather than the rule, we need to make sure that alternatives are available, they’re affordable, they’re appealing, and that’s where things like the work I mentioned earlier with GFI or some of these other organizations is really important—lobbying governments, ensuring that infrastructure is in place.
00:33:13
So, I think the focus on behavior change is important, but without the systems change to support it, we could end up just having a sort of a small group of people who are really motivated making the change, and it’s not going to have the massive scale that we need. So, it’s both.
00:33:31
Next question?
00:33:33
Audience: When you’re looking at the different areas, like the work that THL is doing or GFI, do you think one of those areas is more scalable, or more impactful, or do you think all of them are equally important in achieving the kind of systemic change we need?
00:33:47
I think they all play a role. So, to your point about scaling, I think that something like alternative proteins, for example, has the potential to scale in a way that consumer behavior change alone might not. If you can create alternative proteins that are more affordable and more accessible to people, then you can potentially have a much wider societal impact.
00:34:08
But I also think that something like corporate campaigning can drive change very quickly. When companies like McDonald’s or Burger King, for example, change their policies, that has a huge impact in terms of shifting what’s available in supermarkets, in restaurants, and so on.
00:34:23
So, I think they are complementary. I think that the policy work and corporate campaigning can help pave the way for alternatives to become more widespread, and then once those alternatives are available, they can help change behavior more quickly. So, I think all of them are important, and the key is figuring out how they work together.
00:34:47
Another question?
00:34:50
Audience: Just to follow up on that, you mentioned the Good Food Institute and some of the work they’re doing. Could you talk a little bit more about the specific lobbying efforts that they’re working on at the moment?
00:35:02
Yeah, absolutely. So, the Good Food Institute has been involved in a number of lobbying efforts to try to create more favorable regulatory environments for alternative proteins. One of the key things they’re working on is ensuring that the regulatory process for getting alternative proteins to market is streamlined and fair. So, for example, one of the challenges with things like cultivated meat is that there are different regulatory frameworks depending on where you are in the world, and these can sometimes be very slow-moving or unclear.
00:35:31
What GFI does is they work with governments to try to create a more clear and unified system for getting these products approved, so that they don’t have to go through, like, years of uncertainty and additional cost. They also work on ensuring that alternative proteins have access to the same subsidies and support that traditional agriculture has received for many years.
00:35:53
They’re also looking at things like, um, creating standards for labeling alternative proteins, so that consumers can know exactly what they’re getting when they purchase these products, and to ensure that those products aren’t misleadingly marketed. So, there’s a lot of work being done on that side of things to create a regulatory environment that will really support the growth of these technologies.
00:36:15
But there’s also work happening around things like public procurement, so making sure that governments are using their purchasing power to support more plant-based meals, for example, in schools, hospitals, and public institutions.
00:36:26
So, it’s a really broad range of efforts, but ultimately, the goal is to level the playing field between alternative proteins and traditional animal agriculture so that we can see a more rapid transition.
00:36:39
Any more questions?
00:36:41
Audience: You talked a little bit about funding challenges and the bottleneck in terms of talent. What advice would you give for someone who wants to get involved in this space but might be concerned about those challenges, particularly if they don’t have a background in the field?
00:36:57
Yeah, I think there are a few things you can do. So, first of all, I think you don’t have to come from a specific background to get involved in this space. It’s such a multidisciplinary area, and there are so many roles that need to be filled—from research to advocacy to corporate partnerships. So, I would say, look at your skill set and see where you can apply that.
00:37:17
Second, I think there’s a lot of great resources and training out there. As I mentioned, organizations like, um, like the Center for Effective Altruism and others have fantastic training programs, mentorship opportunities, and networks that can help you get into the space.
00:37:31
Finally, I would say that even if you’re just starting out and maybe you don’t have a lot of experience in animal advocacy or environmental work, volunteering or interning is a great way to get your foot in the door. And the more experience you can build up, even just from volunteering or working with an organization for a little while, the more valuable you’re going to be to these organizations, especially as the field continues to grow.
00:37:57
I think there’s a lot of space for people to come in from all sorts of backgrounds, but it’s important to stay focused and passionate about the issue. As long as you’re committed to the cause and willing to learn, there’s a lot of opportunities for you to make a real difference.
00:38:13
Any other questions?
00:38:16
Audience: So, you mentioned that a big challenge is scaling these alternatives to match what’s currently available in the market. What do you think needs to happen next in terms of scaling those efforts to make them more accessible?
00:38:30
Yeah, I think the next step is really about production scale. Right now, we’re seeing some exciting new products come onto the market, but they’re often quite expensive. And the key challenge in scaling is bringing down the cost of production.
00:38:45
The more we can scale up production, the more efficient these processes will become, and that’s when we’ll start to see prices come down. One of the key challenges there is infrastructure—right now, the infrastructure for producing things like cultivated meat is really limited, and it’s expensive to build out those facilities. But there’s a lot of innovation happening in terms of bioreactors and other production methods that will help bring the cost down.
00:39:09
So, I think the next few years will be really important in terms of scaling production and reducing costs. Once that happens, we’ll start to see these alternatives become much more affordable and much more mainstream.
00:39:21
Audience: That makes sense, thanks.
00:39:24
Yeah, no problem.
00:39:27
Any other questions? No?
00:39:30
Well, I think we are just about out of time. So, I just want to say thank you again to everyone for attending today’s session. I hope you found it helpful, and I hope it gave you some insights into the exciting developments in the alternative protein space and the important role that each of us can play in supporting that transition.
00:39:50
If you have any other questions after today’s session, please don’t hesitate to reach out, and I’ll be happy to continue the conversation. Thanks again, and have a great rest of your day.
Key Takeaways on Impact in working on Animal Cruelty:
It costs about 50-85p to save one chicken from a life stuck in a cage so you can do an extraordinarily large amount of good with an extraordinarily small amount of money or other resources.
Generally, the majority of people disagree with factory farming, but the huge catch is that they perceive that nothing can be done about it.
Caring for animals also means caring for the planet - factory farms are responsible for between 14% and 19% of global greenhouse gas emissions,
Donation to effective charities is vital - The meat industry is worth about $2 trillion, and only $20 million- $290 million a year is donated to animal charities.
