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A recent TEDx talk examines the problems of animal farming – and how humanity can overcome it.
Speaker Jacy Reese is the Research Director at Sentience Institute, an effective altruism think tank researching the most effective strategies to expand humanity’s moral circle.
Calling animal farming an ‘urgent social issue’, Reese outlines some of the major problems – including the cost (animal ag is subsidized to the tune of $38 billion by the US Government every year), the environmental cost, and of course the immeasurably suffering experienced by animals trapped in this system.
Powerful
But change is possible, according to Reese, who calls finding a solution to ending our reliance on animal ag ‘a fascinating intellectual problem’.
He says: “[We can tackle it with] effective altruism…using evidence-based research to implement effective solutions, to the biggest problems.
“The most powerful tool we have is innovation: the amazing thing is, we don’t have to give up meat, dairy or eggs to end animal farming.
“Think about it – what’s meat? It’s fat, protein, water, and trace minerals. All of these ingredients are readily available in the plant kingdom, they are just not assembled in the traditional architecture of meat.”
Outlining some of the innovations happening now in food tech. He says: “This is a time of unbridled excitement, and opportunity.”
He concludes: “Humanity’s moral circle will continue to expand – but only if people like you and me take hold.”
