When Marcus Daniell isn’t on the tennis court winning Olympic titles, he’s focused on high-impact charitable giving. He joins us on the podcast from New Zealand for a conversation about his organization, High Impact Athletes, which helps athletes create world-changing impacts through charitable donations. In our discussion, Marcus details athletes’ historical donating patterns and how High Impact Athletes helps connect them with effective charities. Marcus also shares his thoughts on the benefits and limitations of Effective Altruism, the future of cultivated meat, and the cognitive dissonance some folks have when it comes to eating certain animals but not others.

*We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read Jasmin’s interview with Marcus Daniell*

Marcus is the founder and Executive Director of High Impact Athletes. He is also an Olympic bronze medallist tennis player with 5 ATP titles, quarterfinal appearances at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open (twice), and numerous caps for the New Zealanc Davis Cup Team. He has been Giving Effectively since 2014. On January 4th, 2021, Marcus took the Giving What We Can pledge to donate at least 10% of his annual winnings to effective organizations for the rest of his life. Alongside his tennis career, Marcus has completed a B.A. from Massey University in Psychology and Spanish and has been awarded the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award for his work with HIA, joining recipients such as Nelson Mandela and Roger Federer.

“Every inch of progress that we make will result in a better world.” – Marcus Daniell

Highlights for Episode 688: 

• High Impact Athletes, the organization’s goals, and how it hopes to make giving back in meaningful ways the norm in professional sports
• How millennials view philanthropy and why it may differ from other generations’ views
• How High Impact Athletes works to make donations as impactful as possible
• Some of Effective Altruism’s blind spots, including  a lack of diversity
• Why Marcus is such a keen supporter of the Good Food Institute, and how hopeful he feels about the long-term possibility of replacing our animal-centric food system
• Athletes’ diets and why Marcus believes that they don’t need meat to perform at a high level
• The issue of cultivated meat’s price point and whether Marcus believes it will ever be affordable enough for regular consumption
• Marcus’ almost-vegan diet and why he makes the choices he does 
• High-welfare egg production and what happens to animals that outlive their commercial use, including male chicks or non-laying hens
• High Impact Athlete’s most popular charities and how their members prefer to donate

Resources:

• Bringing Back Former Vegans And Vegetarians: An Obstacle Analysis

Connect with Marcus Daniell:

• High Impact Athletes
• High Impact Athletes on Instagram
• High Impact Athletes Facebook
• High Impact Athletes on Twitter
• Marcus Daniell on Instagram
• Marcus Daniell on LinkedIn

Connect with Our Hen House:

• Our Hen House Website
• Our Hen House on Facebook
• Our Hen House on Instagram
• Our Hen House on Twitter

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The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.

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This episode is brought to you in part through the generosity of A Well-Fed World. A Well-Fed World provides the means for change by empowering individuals, social justice organizations, and political decision makers to embrace the benefits of plant-based foods and farming. Learn more at awfw.org.