The Misapplication of Effective Altruist Mindset to Animal Advocacy

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There is a misapplication of the Effective Altruist (EA) mindset to animal advocacy. The EA mindset of measurement and maximizing makes sense in the context of global development and health, where there are numerous resources and organizations. However, in the animal movement, which is still in its early stages, this mindset may not be appropriate. The animal movement requires more of an exploratory mindset and the willingness to try different approaches. While continuing with what works is important, it should not come at the expense of experimenting with new strategies. The idea that the first discovery will always be the best and that no further experimentation is needed is flawed. This misapplication can be attributed to measurability bias.

David Coman-Hidy is former President of The Humane League, one of the largest farm animal advocacy organisations in the world. He now works as a Partner at Sharpen Strategy working to coach animal advocacy organisations.

In this episode, we discuss the age-old debate facing animal advocates: Should we pursue incremental approaches to improve welfare or should we only advocate for the total abolition of animal exploitation. Additionally, David also shares some approaches he would like to see more of within the animal advocacy movement, as well as what we could learn from other social movements.

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