Positive News for Animals (and the People Who Care About Them) :)
Plus a personal update and opportunities to become an animal advocate.
Today’s the day I’m becoming a real animal advocate! So, I thought it would make sense to mark this occasion with a post in this publication.
While I have been vegan since 2012 (and decided to stop eating meat when I was 6 or 7), I only recently committed to doing more. So today, I’m starting volunteering with an organization that focuses on reducing animal suffering. :)
What had stopped me before? For most of my life, reducing animal suffering felt like a hopeless endeavor, which led me to numbing out. I was afraid that doing advocacy for animals would feel terrible because it would get me to face animal suffering on a regular basis.
However, I recently realized that things have changed a lot since I was a child and even since I became a vegan.
As a vegan in 2012 in Germany, I sometimes felt like a bit of an extraterrestrial. In 2016, I moved to the USA. Whenever I return to Germany now, I’m amazed by how mainstream vegan choices have become over there.
In a bit over a decade, things have shifted dramatically! While ever country and culture is different, Germany’s example gives me hope for the world at large. I now think that things can become so much better for animals, even within a generation.
And, it’s up to us to make that happen. So I will despair less and do more! And I would like to help other (current and future) vegans do the same.
Today’s newsletter is my first step in that regard. Being aware of animal suffering can feel really hard. The movement for animals is still in its early stages, so it’s not always easy to see if we’re having an impact.
So, I wanted to share a couple of positive developments for animals to encourage you. If you would also like to help animals, I will share some ways of doing that below.
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Positive News
1. UK court case could help a billion chickens
Last week, the Humane League UK (THL UK) was in the High Court to challenge the legality of fast-growing breeds of chicken. It might take a while until this case gets decided.
Regardless of the outcome, that this case made it into the appeal stage is a huge success and a chance to raise more awareness of the plight of fast-growing breeds of chicken.
Here’s how Molly Archer-Zeff described it:
“During our previous court hearing, we secured more broadcast media coverage in the two days of the case than we did in the previous 12 months, sparking a national conversation about the cruelty of breeding Frankenchickens and making it the single biggest media impact of any action since our inception, with a potential reach of over 350 million people.”
You can read more about this case here on the Effective Altruism Forum.
To support this, you can share about this case on Social Media, or donate to the Humane League UK.
2. European’s Plant-Based Sales Rise
A new GFI analysis of plant-based food sales in six European countries (Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK) shows positive news:
- plant-based sales in these countries reached €5.4 billion in 2023 (an increase of 5.5% from 2022),
- volume sales were up 3.5%,
- total value sales increased in five of the six countries studied.
You can read more about this here.
3. The Number of Farmed Animals in Europe is Declining (Except for Chickens)
A report from Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency, shows large declines in most farmed animal populations between 2003 and 2023, including an almost 15% decline in the number of pigs.
The numbers of farmed sheep, goats, and cows has also decreased (sadly, the number of chickens have increased). The report attributes this decline to a decreasing demand for meat among Europeans, driven by concerns about health, animal welfare, and the environment.
The trend is supported by research from the Good Food Institute Europe, which found significant decreases in sales of animal-based meat and milk, alongside increases in plant-based alternatives.
You can read more about this here.
How to Help Animals
- You can donate to an organization that effectively advocates for animals, such as the Humane League (I have donated to them before and had a great experience). You can find out more about effective animal welfare donations here.
- You can volunteer for animals. If you don’t have a lot of time, the Humane League’s Fast Action Network might be a good choice, as it allows you to contribute when you can (for instance, while waiting in a queue).If you have more time, you can find a lot of volunteering opportunities here.
- If you are not yet a vegan, you can become a vegan ally (see this YouTube video for an explanation) and support the cause by reducing your consumption of animal products. If you want support in becoming more vegan, there are many vegan challenges, such as this one.
- If you would like community, you can join Hive Newsletter’s Slack channel and connect with 3000+ animal advocates. I recently joined and it’s amazing! My only regret is that I didn’t join earlier. :)
Warmly,
Louise
