“Using a diet offset calculator to encourage effective giving for farmed animals” by Aidan Alexander, ThomNorman

When we built a calculator to help meat-eaters offset the animal welfare impact of their diet through donations (like carbon offsets), we didn't expect it to become one of our most effective tools for engaging new donors.

In this post we explain how it works, why it seems particularly promising for increasing support for farmed animal charities, and what you can do to support this work if you think it's worthwhile. In the comments I’ll also share our answers to some frequently asked questions and concerns some people have when thinking about the idea of an ‘animal welfare offset’.

Background

FarmKind is a donation platform whose mission is to support the animal movement by raising funds from the general public for some of the most effective charities working to fix factory farming.

When we built our platform, we directionally estimated how much a donation to each of our [...]

---

Outline:

(00:50) Background

(01:41) What it is and what it isn't

(02:38) How it works

(04:24) Why this is a promising way to encourage effective giving for animals

(06:46) Case study: Bentham's Bulldog

(07:30) How is this actionable for you?

The original text contained 2 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

---

First published:
February 11th, 2025

Source:
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/nGQRBWyCAbcEYSyLL/using-a-diet-offset-calculator-to-encourage-effective-giving

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

---