EA Forum Podcast (All audio)

This is one of the memos I wrote for the 2025 Animal Advocacy Strategy Forum, which were encouraged to be highly opinionated to generate strategy discussion.

In 2017, McDonald's refused to sign the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC), and instead set eight Broiler Welfare Commitments to be achieved by the end of 2024.

As far as I can tell, the movement responded to this by calling it humanewashing, and pushed harder for the BCC. But if McDonald's actually did do all the things they said they would, the impact on the broilers would likely be more impactful than the BCC.

I’m surprised we don’t have more Good Cops collaborating with the industry on initiatives like this.
If it does turn out to be humanewashing, we can push for alignment from the inside.
It's not that this level of engagement isn't possible for NGOs - FAI Farms and WWF do [...]

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First published:

June 18th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/tFHEyAtr6bx93H6XR/animal-advocates-are-too-reluctant-to-sit-at-the-industry-s

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

Elitism in EA sparks strong emotions in people, and I worry that we are talking past each other. Rather than asking whether EA "is elitist" (which means different things to different people), this survey focuses on specific experiences and feelings to get to the real substance of the matter.

This takes 5-30 minutes and your perspective matters. Feel free to skip the detailed descriptions if you want to save time. The survey covers thirteen key areas with contrasting viewpoints.

Here's a list of actions you can take if you want to help:

1. Click the “Agree” or “Disagree” button (NOT the karma arrows) on perspectives that resonate (or don’t) with your experience.
   1. To be clear:
      1. “Agree” if you find the perspective more resonant than not.
      2. “Disagree” if you find the perspective more dissonant than not.
      3. If you're unsure, don't click either button.
      4. Feel free to agree [...]

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First published:

June 16th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/nbpBFnM65pGNZh58R/what-s-your-experience-with-elitism-in-ea-survey

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

In the latest edition of my Tactics In Practice (TIPs) series, I analyzed the research behind protest in the animal protest movement! The full resource is well worth reading for any activist who uses street demonstrations — check out the full thing here: Tactics In Practice: The Science Of Protests And Demonstrations.

Key Highlights:

• Protest groups tend to have three main goals, shown below. I wasn't able to find empirical evidence on Goal 3 (positive or negative), but anecdotal conversations lead me to believe that protests can serve as good cultivation tools for other activists. But I was able to find more information on the other two goals.

• Protests can’t change people's diets; we need to pursue other targets. (That doesn't mean protest is a bad tactic! Just that it's ineffective if we apply it to the wrong target)
• All protest has some [...]

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First published:

June 16th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/wjEbP9YHbTxDudwCT/the-impact-of-protest-on-animal-advocacy

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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10-second version of this post

Expressions of interest for our upcoming AIM Grantmaking cohorts are now open:

1. August 11 to September 27, 2025: Focus on Food Systems / Climate / Animal Welfare philanthropy
2. Late 2025 or early 2026: Express interest now

Express interest through our 2-minute form here.

Overview

What? AIM Grantmaking is a peer training course to equip you with the tools and skills you need to set up your giving for maximum impact.

Who? For funders, grantmakers, philanthropic advisors. Run by Ambitious Impact.

How long? 7 weeks total: 6 weeks online, 1 week in person in London

Key features:

• Learn or refresh how to choose your niche, source grantees, and identify the best
• Discuss and collaborate weekly with a cohort of 6-8 peer funders
• Connect to our philanthropic network
• Weekly 1on1 mentorship
• Requires 3 hours / week​​ of your time
• 100% free of charge

Upcoming [...]

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Outline:

(00:13) 10-second version of this post

(00:43) Overview

(01:57) Testimonials

(03:36) How to express interest

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First published:

June 17th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/xasJ7XYsZjqRJ2C23/aim-grantmaking-program-for-funders-upcoming-cohorts

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

In her office nestled in the corner of constellation, Amina is checking in with her employee Diego about his project – a new AI alignment technique. It's 8pm and the setting sun is filling Amina's office with a red glow. Diego is clearly running a sleep deficit, and 60% of Amina's mind is on a paper deadline next week.

 1: Hopelessness

Diego: I’m feeling quite hopeless about the whole thing.

Amina: About the project? I think it's going well, no?

Diego: No, I mean the whole thing. AI safety. It's so hard for me to imagine the work I’m doing actually moving the p(doom) needle.

Amina: This happens to a lot of people in the bay. There are too many doomers around here! Personally I think the default outcome is that we won’t get paperclipped, we’re just addressing a tail risk.

Diego: That's not really what I mean. It's [...]

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Outline:

(00:38) 1: Hopelessness

(11:02) 2: The metacrisis movement

(21:58) 3: The root cause of existential risk

(35:31) Wanna read more about the metacrisis (and related ideas)?

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First published:

June 17th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/w3zfrpg4YuHQKKSEG/the-root-cause

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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If you're a UK voter, use this link right now (on or before 15th June), to email your MP, encouraging them to attend the upcoming debate on ending the use of cages in the UK, and asking them to support the petition. This takes 2 minutes if you use the existing template and requires only your name, address and email.

Contextual information: This campaign is part of CIWF's 'End the Cage Age' initiative. The debate is a result of a petition which successfully achieved 100,000+ signatures. The debate is scheduled for Monday 16th June at 4:30pm.

Note: I'm not officially affiliated with this campaign in any way, am simply sharing as it seems like a broadly valuable action that people on the Forum would be interested in!

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First published:

June 14th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/9kJuH3n2RActZoicY/uk-voters-take-2-mins-by-15th-june-to-help-end-uk-cage-usage

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

If you're a UK voter, use this link right now (on or before 15th June), to email your MP, encouraging them to attend the upcoming debate on ending the use of cages in the UK, and asking them to support the petition. This takes 2 minutes if you use the existing template and requires only your name, address and email.

Contextual information: This campaign is part of CIWF's 'End the Cage Age' initiative. The debate is a result of a petition which successfully achieved 100,000+ signatures. The debate is scheduled for Monday 16th June at 4:30pm.

Note: I'm not officially affiliated with this campaign in any way, am simply sharing as it seems like a broadly valuable action that people on the Forum would be interested in!

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First published:

June 14th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/9kJuH3n2RActZoicY/uk-voters-take-2-mins-by-15th-june-to-help-end-uk-cage-usage

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

Earlier this year, we launched a request for proposals (RFP) from organizations that fundraise for highly cost-effective charities. The Livelihood Impact Fund supported the RFP, as did two donors from Meta Charity Funders. We’re excited to share the results: $1,565,333 in grants to 11 organizations. We estimate a weighted average ROI of ~4.3x across the portfolio, which means we expect our grantees to raise more than $6 million in adjusted funding over the next 1-2 years.

Who's receiving funding

These organizations span different regions, donor audiences, and outreach strategies. Here's a quick overview:

Charity Navigator (United States) — $200,000
Charity Navigator recently acquired Causeway, through which they now recommend charities with a greater emphasis on impact across a portfolio of cause areas. This grant supports Causeway's growth and refinement, with the aim of nudging donors toward curated higher-impact giving funds.

Effectief Geven (Belgium) — $108,000
Newly incubated, with [...]

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Outline:

(00:49) Who's receiving funding

(04:32) Why promising applications sometimes didn't meet our bar

(05:54) What we learned

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First published:

June 16th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/prddJRsZdFjpm6yzs/open-philanthropy-reflecting-on-our-recent-effective-giving

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

Each year, Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE) invites animal charities from around the world to apply for our in-depth evaluations. Our goal is to identify the most impactful giving opportunities for donors seeking to contribute to a world where all animals can flourish.

We are thrilled to announce that 10 charities have been selected for this year's charity evaluations, based on their excellent applications and the highly promising nature of their work. Among these are six current Recommended Charities that are being re-evaluated before their two-year recommendation status expires: Faunalytics, Legal Impact for Chickens, New Roots Institute, Shrimp Welfare Project, The Humane League, and Wild Animal Initiative.

On November 4, 2025, some of this year's evaluated charities will be awarded ACE's two-year recommendation status, joining the five charities recommended in 2024: Aquatic Life Institute, Çiftlik Hayvanlarını Koruma Derneği, Dansk Vegetarisk Forening, Good Food Fund, and Sinergia Animal.

All charities evaluated [...]

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Outline:

(01:43) Our Selection Process

(02:38) Invitations

(03:06) Eligibility screening

(03:51) In-depth questions

(04:20) Researcher assessment and scoring

(04:57) Discussion and shortlisting

(05:21) Follow-up questions and clarification

(05:43) Team scoring and further discussion

(06:03) Charity calls

(06:29) Final decision

(06:50) Selected Charities

(07:08) Animal Welfare Observatory

(07:45) Better Food Foundation

(08:18) Ethical Seafood Research

(09:02) Faunalytics

(09:42) Legal Impact for Chickens

(10:16) New Roots Institute

(10:58) Shrimp Welfare Project

(12:01) Sociedade Vegetariana Brasileira

(13:01) The Humane League

(13:35) Wild Animal Initiative

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First published:

June 16th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/Fw8AMFZEqGYPLeCsz/announcing-the-animal-charities-under-evaluation-in-2025

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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Images from the article:

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Hi Forum,

If you're ages 15-25, you may want to apply for the Opposite of Loneliness Fellowship.

Quick notes:

• The fellowship honors Marina Keegan, a writer who died at age 22 in 2012.
• I'm not sure whether Marina was aware of EA by that name, but she wrote a play called "Utility Monster" with the following plot:
  • "The play tells the story of a group of teenagers who, upon learning that a mere five dollars can save an African child's life, formulate a plan to steal artwork and donate the proceeds to Oxfam International."
• Since global health was an issue Marina found compelling, it seems like applicants trying to do GHW-inspired work might be good candidates for the funding.
• The preliminary application is 500 words and a two-minute video.
• The deadline to apply was recently extended to July 25, which makes me think they may not be [...]

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First published:

June 15th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/ic3G9Cw4uJkwbB6du/the-opposite-of-loneliness-fellowship-usd5000-to-make-a

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.