How I Learned to Love Shrimp

Long overdue conversation on the important topic of fish this week with the lead for fish at Eurogroup for Animals, Doug Waley. Doug’s expertise lies in working for fish at the EU level however most of the episode is filled with important information relevant to fish farming across the globe. 

It’s a technical one but really insightful as we explore the everyday life of a farmed fish, the challenges they face and what can be done to secure meaningful wins for the billions of fish farmed each year. 

As always please check out the episode on youtube if you’d prefer or listen in, it’s a great episode! 

Relevant links to things mentioned throughout the show:

• Gautier Riberolles - Welfarm
• Dyrenes Beskytellse
• Humany Pokrok - Live carp campaign
• Aquatic Life Institute 
• Eurogroup for Animals
• EU Research Centre and Consortium: Animal welfare in aquaculture 
• Gaia in Belgium on stopping RAS aquaculutre in local systems
• Do fish feel pain? - Victoria Braithwate
• What a fish knows - Jonathan Balcombe
• Uncovering the horrific reality of octopus farming - CIWF and Eurogroup Report

00:00:00:00 | Intro 
00:02:09:21 | Inspiring figures in the movement
00:04:29:11 | Fish welfare
00:06:06:03 | Origin of imported fish
00:07:29:06 | Fish farming conditions
00:15:37:03 | Importance of water quality
00:19:39:07 | Welfare challenges
00:27:04:03 | How many fish are farmed?
00:32:56:03 | Fish confinement
00:35:44:16 | Priorities for helping fish
00:41:28:09 | Motivation for producers to improve mortality rates
00:43:55:04 | The state of fish advocacy
00:47:42:21 | Quality of certifications
00:50:17:08 | The next step in collaborating with producers
00:52:01:02 | Work on EU legislation
01:01:16:21 | Closing questions

With thanks to Tom Felbar (Ambedo Media) for amazing video and audio editing!

Note: My (James') views here are my personal opinions and don't represent those of Coefficient Giving.

If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - it means a lot to us!

Matthew and Jane co-founded the online campaign Veganuary in 2013, which has encouraged millions of people across the globe to try being vegan for the month of January and beyond. More recently, Matthew launched Veg Capital, an organisation that provides early-stage capital to companies striving to replace the use of animals in our food system and founded vegan chicken brand VFC. Jane remains on the board for Veganuary as chair.

Episode filmed live at the Vegan and Animal Rights Conference in Manchester in April 2024. The episode is warm and nostalgic as Jane and Matthew gave us insight into their Veganuary journey. The episode was also recorded and is available on our youtube channel.

Relevant links to things mentioned throughout the show:

• Kate Fowler - Veganuary 
• Seth Tibbot - Tofurky Founder
• Veganuary website
• VFC Food Brand
• Veg Trust

With thanks to Tom Felbar (Ambedo Media) for amazing video and audio editing!

Note: My (James') views here are my personal opinions and don't represent those of Coefficient Giving.

If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - it means a lot to us!

Sofia Balderson is the co-founder of Hive, formerly known as Impactful Animal Advocacy, an organisation that aims to improve coordination and collaboration in the farmed animal movement through cultivating impactful, intentional, and serendipitous communities

Many listeners may be on the Impactful Advocacy Slack – a Slack workspace with over 2,000 animal advocates and a great place to connect, learn and share ideas. Today, we spoke with Sofia Balderson, one of the originators of that Slack Channel about lessons in starting new projects, the importance of facing rejection, how much you should listen to philanthropic funders to understand the value of your project and tangible ways to measure whether your work is providing value!

This was a very fun and candid conversation which I really enjoyed, so I’m sure you all will too.

Relevant links to things mentioned throughout the show:

• Our website: joinhive.org 
• Chi from Global Vegan inspiration 
• Hive Slack joining link 
• Hive Newsletter (free biweekly) 
• Hive volunteer moderator role 
• Hive channel lead role (volunteer)
• Hive events 
• Our Theory of Change (general + for each program)
• Our metrics: what we measure (including our OKRs and KPIs)
• Our impact estimates for 2023 and 2024
• Our cost-effectiveness estimates: spreadsheet
• Our Year in Review 2023: insights in our programs and results
• Weighted factor model explanation
• My EA Forum post: Writing about my job: co-founder of an early stage charity
• Sofia’s productivity course (Clariteam)
• Hive Fundraising wiki 
• Rethink Priorities cross cause cost-effectiveness comparison tool
• Leader Lab book  
• Obstacle is the way by Ryan Holiday 
• The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday

Chapters
----------------
00:00 // Start
04:25 // History of Hive/Impactful Animal Advocacy
06:43 // Who is the Hive Slack for?
10:24 // Hive's biggest challenges so far
14:19 // Example of projects that didn't work out
18:08 // How important is funder feedback?
26:30 // What value does Hive provide?
30:26 // Advice for new founders
33:07 // Personal development advice
36:10 // Books on professional and personal development
37:46 // Facing rejection
42:00 // Motivation for sharing personal experiences
45:40 // How people react to Sofia putting herself out there
47:56 // What do many peopl

With thanks to Tom Felbar (Ambedo Media) for amazing video and audio editing!

Note: My (James') views here are my personal opinions and don't represent those of Coefficient Giving.

If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - it means a lot to us!

Short but sweet episode this week from Ignacia, author of a recently released book, CEO of a leading organisation in Latin America and mother to two small kids. We're delighted that Ignacia took time out to talk to us about her experiences right across her contributions for animals. 

We chat about Fundacion veg and their campaigns in both diet change and animal welfare as well as the decision for Ignacia to scale down her organisation and what led to this decision. We talk about the importance of country context in campaigning and the challenges when working in this field across Latin America. 

We ran into a whole host of technical difficulties during this episode with unstable connections so please bear with us during the chat and why not head to youtube to see if you can spot the point at which an entire day passes before we resume filming for the remainder of the episode.

Resources: 

• www.fundacionveg.org
• Instagram: @vegetarianos_hoy and @ignaciauribe 
• Como ser vegano Hoy
• Open Wing Alliance
• Connect For Animals newsletter 
• @peter_singer has a very interesting Instagram account
• @seb.alex and @ryujichua, both have a very unique way to communicate and they speak different languages, which I think it's crucial to get to more people and other cultures where veganism is not that mainstream yet

How can people get more involved in your work? Are you hiring, do you need volunteers and where can people find you?

We don’t have volunteers all year round, but we do calls when we need them, so stay tuned to our social media accounts. We plan to hire a COO this year, so I’d have more time to do lobbying and PR which I think I'm better at, we haven’t published it yet but am very excited for this role.

Chapters
------------------------
00:00 // Start
02:36 // Inspiring figures in the movement
05:42 // How to be Vegan Today
10:42 // Balncing work and writing
13:51 // Impact of writing a book to everyday activism
15:51 // The work of Fundacion Veg
23:48 // Approach to campaigning
30:06 // Humanitarian issues
32:01 // Alternate tactics to protesting
37:30 // Biggest successes
41:46 // Senate language case
45:38 // Biggest challenges in Latin America

With thanks to Tom Felbar (Ambedo Media) for amazing video and audio editing!

Note: My (James') views here are my personal opinions and don't represent those of Coefficient Giving.

If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - it means a lot to us!

Bob Fischer is the Senior Research Manager at Rethink Priorities and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Texas State University.

Can insects feel pain? Should people who care about chickens, cows and pigs also care about reducing the suffering of crickets or black soldier flies? In this episode with Bob Fischer from Rethink Priorities, we try to answer some of those questions, as well as talking about the rapidly growing insect industry, and possible ways for advocates to help farmed insects.

We talk about lots of interesting content and research, for some of which there are excellent visualisations, which we’ll link to at the top of the show notes. I highly recommend checking out the Welfare Range Table and Rethink Priorities’ Welfare Range estimates to help better understand some of the points here, both of which are linked.  

Bob also had a great conversation on the 80,000 Hours Podcast about the moral weights project more broadly and how they want to try to compare welfare across different species of animals. We think they covered it very well, so we didn’t speak much about it today, so we’ll link it for interested folks. 

Relevant links to things mentioned throughout the show:

• Cognitive and hedonic proxies of different animals from Rethink Priorities Moral Weights Project 
• Rethink Priorities’ Welfare Range estimates
  • For more on this, listen to Bob’s great episode on the 80,000 Hours podcast 
• Research paper, “Can Insects Feel Pain?”, which found that two orders of insects (which include cockroaches, termites, flies and mosquitos) met more criteria to feel pain than decapod crustaceans (e.g. crabs, lobsters, shrimp), which are recognised as sentient by the UK government. 
• How I Learned To Love Shrimp YouTube Channel 
• Meghan Barrett’s handbook chapter
• Barn 8 by Deb Olin Unferth
• Dominion by Matthew Scully
• Donate to Insect Welfare Research Society
• Donate to Rethink Priorities
• Newsletter for Insect Welfare Research Society
• Newsletter for Rethink Priorities 

With thanks to Tom Felbar (Ambedo Media) for amazing video and audio editing!

Note: My (James') views here are my personal opinions and don't represent those of Coefficient Giving.

If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - it means a lot to us!

Kristie Middleton is  vice president of business development for Rebellyous Foods where she and her team help institutions add more plant-based options to their menus. Kristie’s also the author of MeatLess: Transform the Way You Eat and Live—One Meal at a Time and a long-time animal advocate. 

Rebellyous Foods has created novel manufacturing technology in order to make plant-based chicken more affordable to the masses. Mainly targeting food service providers such as universities and school districts, Kristie, who is Vice president of business development at the venture capital funded company, uses her experience from her days at The Humane Society to ensure that this product is a clean and price comparable product in those markets.

A great episode for those interested in all things plant-based meats and how to scale a company providing this type of product to the masses. 

Relevant links to things mentioned throughout the show:

• Kristie Middleton: MeatLess: Transform the Way You Eat and Live—One Meal at a Time
• In a recent interview with The Food Institute with Christie Lagally 
• 50% of all meals served in Sodexo university settings will be plant-based by 2025
• Request For Proposals for something called Mock2
• Josh Balk episode on our podcast
• AG funder interview re continuous process vs batching
• Podcast: Business for Good (start-ups)
• Food BizWiz by Aly Ball about getting food start-up products into retail
• Rebellyous Foods Hiring

(00:00) START
(04:23) ABOUT REBELLYOUS FOODS
(09:31) PATENTED EQUIPMENT
(16:47) EDUCATING THE CONSUMER
(22:12) A GOOD APPROACH MAKES A DIFFERENCE
(28:24) THE MOCK 2
(34:53) ADVANTAGES TO COMPANIES FOCUSED ON PROFIT
(45:46) OTHER AREAS THAT NEED INNOVATION
(51:38) MOMENTS THAT INSPIRED CAREER CHANGE
(01:02:31) FOCUS ON THE MISSION
(01:06:05) CLOSING QUESTIONS

With thanks to Tom Felbar (Ambedo Media) for amazing video and audio editing!

Note: My (James') views here are my personal opinions and don't represent those of Coefficient Giving.

If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - it means a lot to us!

Jaya is a seasoned operational executive with a rich history of promoting animal welfare in the food retail sector. As the Co-founder and Chief Program Officer of Global Food Partners, a Singapore-based multinational consulting firm, he helps food and hospitality businesses implement their cage-free egg policies across Asia and reduce the cost of cage-free sourcing.

A fascinating episode as we unpick the many advantages of working collaboratively with the industry to advance animal welfare. We chat about the key challenges to this type of work right now, animal welfare challenges in Asia generally and try to understand some of the key barriers for companies implementing improved animal welfare standards for the animals in their care.

Jaya has an absolute wealth of knowledge and experience in this area so it was a real pleasure to hear about his important work and strategic approach. A great listen.

Relevant links to things mentioned throughout the show:

• Global Food Partners website
• Welfare Matters fellowship
• Ahimsa fellowship in India
• Curious Vedanth podcast
• Asia agribusiness podcast (& newsletter)
  • Global Food Partners Podcast 
• Global Food Partners Newsletter

Chapter Headers:

0:02:38 Why GFP works collaboratively with companies

0:06:10 Market forces and why they matter

0:12:01 Making progress for cage free

0:18:21 Key insights from cage free work in India and Asia

0:20:11 Reputational risk and its limitations in Asia

0:25:59 Forecasting the Asian animal movement

0:31:18 The impact of global welfare commitments on Asian companies

0:36:45 The importance of social proof

0:39:39 Consumers or companies responsibility

0:50:00 Offset credits for cage-free procurement

0:54:51 Cost implications of going cage free

1:08:46 Pushback from other animal advocacy groups

1:12:30 GFP plan for expanding in more countries

1:19:00 Cage free vs broiler commitments in Asia

1:20:22 The need for ecosystems and GFP's work

1:23:02 Career advice for advocates in Asia

1:26:20 Cultivating personal motivation

1:29:24 Closing questions

With thanks to Tom Felbar (Ambedo Media) for amazing video and audio editing!

Note: My (James') views here are my personal opinions and don't represent those of Coefficient Giving.

If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - it means a lot to us!

Lauren Mee is the CEO & Co-founder of Animal Advocacy Careers, an organisation that tries to match mission-aligned talent to opportunities that accelerate the end of factory farming.

Lauren offloads all she knows about the hiring landscape right now when it comes to careers in animal advocacy. She talks us through some best practices and common pitfalls in the hiring process as well as her take on some of the more strategic questions when it comes to career progression in this space.

Whether you are not yet working in the movement, a manager looking to hire or a mid-level employee looking to advance to something more senior, there is something for everyone in this episode.

Relevant links to things mentioned throughout the show:

• Animal Advocacy Careers pitch on why AAC is needed (from 2019)
• Charity Evaluation of Animal Advocacy Careers from Charity Entrepreneurship's Research Training Program
• AAC Fundraising skill profile 
• Policy skill profile 
• Sentience Institute podcast 
• AAC website
• AAC ICAPS
• AAC fundraising placement 
• AAC Inclusive hiring process research 
• AAC online course 
• Laila Kassam talk on YouTube
• Giving for Animals Pledge
• Tania Luna books on management
• Management Centre 
• No Rules Rules - The book on how Netflix built an innovative culture
• Managing to change the world 
• New German legislation on animal welfare 
• Animal Ask Meat Tax report 
• Cal Newport – So good they can’t ignore you
• Range - why generalists trump specialists 
• Mindset - Dr Carol Dweck
• By Jack Kornfield - The heart wisdom podcast
• Career advising form - AAC 

With thanks to Tom Felbar (Ambedo Media) for amazing video and audio editing!

Note: My (James') views here are my personal opinions and don't represent those of Coefficient Giving.

If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - it means a lot to us!

Aaron Ross has spent over 20 years working for farmed animals. His relentless dedication to this cause has seen him co-found two major organisations, The Humane League and the Open Wing Alliance and train and advise countless others around the world on corporate relations and movement strategy.

In this episode, we talk through an important topic, longevity, and discuss the advantages and pitfalls of this long-term dedication to this long-term fight. Aaron offers practical advice for those wanting to dedicate their career to helping animals and why staying involved over the long-term has immeasurable advantages.

We’ve really enjoyed delving into a topic that touches less on the organisation goals and more on personal experiences of a deep topic so if you or anyone you know would like to come on to talk about a different area in this same vein, please let us know.  

Relevant links to things mentioned throughout the show:

• EAST - Farmed Animal Welfare Group, Taiwan 
• The Humane League Careers
• The Humane League website
• Open Wing Alliance 
• Mark & Paul Engler – This is an Uprising
• Jim Collins book, Good To Great, and Level 5 leadership
• 33 Strategies of War
• Hahrie Han - How organisations develop activists 
• Cal Newport - Deep Work
• Cal Newport - A World Without Email
• Jocko Willink Podcast 
• Jocko Willink - Extreme Ownership
• Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis
• Hypatia
• Amy Odene Corporate Campaign Support 

With thanks to Tom Felbar (Ambedo Media) for amazing video and audio editing!

Note: My (James') views here are my personal opinions and don't represent those of Coefficient Giving.

If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - it means a lot to us!

Description: Tomasz Herok recently spent over 5 months working undercover on British factory farms, as part of an investigation by Open Cages, the UK branch of Anima International.

[Trigger warning: graphic descriptions of animals suffering on factory farms throughout the episode]

In this episode we understand the complexities involved in being an undercover investigator, what Tomasz’s role on the farm entailed during his time there and how he personally deals with the trauma presented. We also talk through the campaign that the footage was used for and what Tomasz needed to capture in order for this to be a success. 

An intense but incredibly in-depth look at the role of undercover investigators and what they witness on today's factory farms.

Relevant links to things mentioned throughout the show:

• Tomasz & Open Cages video to share
• Fellow Creatures – Christine Korsgaard
• Unlearning economics – YouTube/podcast
• Tech won’t save us - podcast

With thanks to Tom Felbar (Ambedo Media) for amazing video and audio editing!

Note: My (James') views here are my personal opinions and don't represent those of Coefficient Giving.

If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - it means a lot to us!