Why animals?
Giving to effective charities that focus on animals, particularly farmed animals, can make a big difference for our environment and the alleviation of suffering.
Climate change is considered to be one of the most pressing issues of our time, and animal agriculture is estimated to contribute an astonishing 14-18% of global greenhouse emissions, more than all transportation emissions combined, with some estimates even higher. Factory farms degrade our water, use resources inefficiently, contribute to deforestation, and threaten the planet’s biodiversity. Aside from its detrimental environmental impact, conventional animal agriculture also presents risks to global health in the form of zoonotic diseases and antibiotic resistance.
Most of us don’t think about how the food on our plate came to be there, or how its production impacts the world around us. But animal products are much more resource intensive compared to plant protein, so it’s vital that we examine our diets.
97% of the world’s soy supply and more than half of its corn crop is fed to livestock. Growing these crops requires huge amounts of chemical fertilizers, water, and land, which has resulted in deforestation and biodiversity loss to make room for cattle pasture or feed crops.
Animal agriculture is responsible for 37% of global methane emissions, which has more than 20 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide, and 65% of nitrous oxide emissions, which has almost 300 times carbon dioxide’s global warming potential
It is also important to consider that if anyone kept a dog or cat confined in the conditions that pigs or chickens are frequently subjected to on factory farms for their entire lives - mutilated without painkillers, deprived of social interaction or enrichment, in small spaces that inhibit movement - he or she would be liable to prosecution for animal cruelty, and that individual would be socially scorned. It’s time we not only see the toll animal agriculture takes on the environment, but also open our eyes to the suffering of farmed animals. Convincing people to reduce or eliminate their consumption of animal products is an integral part of reducing suffering and using natural resources more responsibly.
The suffering of non-human animals in our world is immense and diverse. High Impact Athletes recommends giving to charities focused on farmed animal suffering because of its magnitude, as it dwarfs any other category of human-caused animal suffering.
Over 50 billion land animals are killed for food worldwide every year. From now to 2050, it’s estimated that 40 percent of the world’s population—more than 3 billion people—will transition to a diet heavier in meat, eggs, and dairy because of rising incomes in large, rapidly-developing countries striving to emulate the West’s eating habits. This is expected to double the number of land animals killed for food.
Two in three farmed land animals are raised on concentrated animal feeding operations, more commonly known as factory farms.
Hundreds of millions of farmed animals - many times more than the total number killed for fur, euthanized in shelters, or tested on in labs - suffer to death before they even make it to slaughter.
Despite the scale of suffering, farmed animal welfare is a neglected cause. There are thousands of organizations working to help companion animals, but very few charities focus on the suffering caused by animal agriculture.
If you want to reduce the suffering of non-human animals and combat climate change, High Impact Athletes recommends donating to The Humane League (THL) and The Good Food Institute (GFI). Both of these charities have been rigorously evaluated by Animal Charity Evaluators to help you make the biggest impact per dollar.
The Humane League persuades individuals and institutions to adopt behaviors, such as shifting towards a plant-based diet or strengthening corporate animal welfare policies, that significantly reduce farmed animal suffering. It is conservatively estimated that THL can spare 10 animals from a torturous life in industrial agriculture for each $1 donated.
The Good Food Institute is working to transform the food system away from conventional animal agriculture by promoting the development of competitive alternatives to animal-based meat, eggs, and dairy. This organization believes that affordable and accessible protein alternatives that look and taste like animal products are the next global agricultural revolution. GFI is leading the charge by stewarding new scientists and entrepreneurs, securing fair regulatory frameworks, and championing open-access research.
When you support THL and GFI, High Impact Athletes does not charge any fee or receive any monetary benefit from that transaction – 100% of your donation goes to saving and changing the lives of farmed animals and building a more sustainable food system.
Join us, and do good!
Sources
Why Farmed Animals? Animal Charity Evaluators
Singer, Peter. The Most Good You Can Do
The Humane Society of the United States. "Animal Agriculture & Climate Change."