Chickens are, by a wide margin, the most slaughtered of all land animals—in fact, an annual 60 billion are killed for their meat. When confined in overcrowded conditions, these creatures may use their beaks to attack each other, resulting in injury and even death. To curb such behavior, many companies resort to cutting off portions of the chickens’ beaks—a cruel practice that causes them unending agony. Mammals, birds, and even fish—with an estimated 1 trillion killed each year—can all suffer. It stands to reason that the same could be true for insects, too; after all, we slaughter trillions of them annually. Until evidence suggests otherwise, it is reasonable to assume that these creatures are sentient beings.
You can visit a factory farm or animal sanctuary to see firsthand how these animals are treated. In a farm animal sanctuary, you will meet animals who have been rescued from abuse. Instead, factory farms are often cramped and dirty, so seeing them firsthand can be shocking.
Faunalytics connects animal advocates with information. This mostly involves cоnducting and publishing independent research, and promoting existing research and data for individual advocates through their website’s content library. The Humane League improves animal welfare standards through grassroots campaigns, movement building, vegan advocacy, research, and advocacy training. The Humane League founded the Open Wing Alliance, an international animal advocacy coalition, to end the use of battery cages globally. The Good Food Institute works to promote plant-based and cell-based meat, eggs, and dairy as a way to improve animal welfare and reduce the negative environmental impacts of industrial animal agriculture. They do this through various strategies such as research and development, technical assistance for startups and entrepreneurs, and policy advocacy. Wild Animal Initiative works to strengthen the animal advocacy movement by creating an academic field dedicated to wild animal welfare. They compile literature reviews, write theoretical and opinion articles, and publish research results on their websites and peer-reviewed journals.
What does the charity do? What’s the cost-effectiveness? How transparent is the charity on its impact? Are there high-quality studies on the charity’s impact? How much more funding can the charity effectively use? Does the charity have strong and honest leadership?
By finding the most cost-effective donations, the Fund allows time-constrained donors to save time and be confident that their contributions are making a difference.
Decide whether you want to make a single or recurring donation. By donating every month, you are more likely to continue contributing again in the future. Also, regular donations allow organisations to plan their finances more effectively.
Volunteer for the Humane League and join their Fast Action Network. By taking daily actions such as signing petitions, posting on social media, or emailing decision-makers, you can improve the lives of millions of animals.
Also check out the Job Board by Animal Advocacy Careers, which specialises in animal advocacy nonprofits.
Offering more plant-based options. Training chefs to provide tasty plant-based meals. Having one day of the week vegetarian (e. g. , Meatless Mondays).
A cow can produce more than 1,000 burgers, but a chicken yields only a few meals. The average American consumes 25 chickens in a year but only a fraction of a cow. If you switch from eating beef to eggs, you would end up causing an even greater amount of suffering. You indirectly kill one chicken every ∼300 eggs you eat.
Follow The Good Food Institute’s free online course on The Science behind Alternative Proteins.
Almost 10,000 people signed the Giving What We Can Pledge, a non-binding pledge to donate more than 10% of your income to effective charities.
