EFFECTIVE ALTRUISM FOR ALL SENTIENT BEINGS
Fundraising prospectus Who we are
SENTIENCE POLITICS IS AN ANTI-SPECIESIST POLITICAL THINK-TANK.
We advocate a society which grants moral conside ration to all sentient beings, regardless of their species membership. We use a rational and empiri cally grounded approach to achieve this goal.
ACTIVITIES OF SENTIENCE POLITICS
We produce high-quality, evidence-based policy papers
We run political initiatives to spread our message to broad audiences
We publish cutting-edge research in the form of academic papers and online articles
We organize events such as conferences and panel discussions
We provide careers advice and run workshops to help people find high-impact careers
Anti-speciesism is the rejection of discrimination We offer scholarships to promising on the basis of species membership. students and researchers Our philosophy
OUR PHILOSOPHY IS BASED IN EFFECTIVE ALTRUISM: THE VIEW THAT WE SHOULD USE OUR LIMITED RESOURCES TO HELP OTHERS IN THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY POSSIBLE.
Effective altruism combines empathy or six legs, or whether she has a mouth, with rational thinking; when we identify a snout or a beak? We believe equal the most effective leverage points for suffering should count equally, regard alleviating suffering, we can multiply less of the external characteristics of our positive impact. Our circle of moral the individual concerned, such as race, concern includes both human and non- gender or species. This insight forms the human sentient beings. Why should it basis for the recognition of both human matter whether a being has two, four rights and animal rights.
Sentience is the capacity to have conscious experiences, particularly the ability to experience suffering. It’s the only criterion for ethical consideration that includes all human beings (no matter their cognitive abilities) and which precludes arbitrary discrimination.
The question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer? Jeremy Bentham philosopher and legal scholar (1748 — 1832) Our strategic approach
SENTIENCE POLITICS USES RATIONALITY AND EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY AND IMPLEMENT THE MOST EFFECTIVE STRATE GIES FOR REDUCING SUFFERING.
To do this, we work to identify the most of a country or a field of scientific re effective leverage points for reducing the search — where a small change in one point suffering of all sentient beings, drawing can produce big changes in the entire on insight from social psychology, beha system. By finding the right leverage points, vioural economics, political science, and we can greatly reduce suffering simply related fields. Leverage points are places by using our limited resources in the in complex systems — such as the laws right way.
SELECTED TOPICS We also use this approach in order to select and prioritize the causes that we work on:
Plant-based diet: Factory farms and slaughter The strongest argument for a houses cause intense suffering to billions of plant-based diet sentient individuals every year. In order to avoid I. We should not harm animals this unnecessary suffering, Sentience Politics unnecessarily (cruelty to promotes a plant-based diet through political animals). initiatives (e.g. demanding plant-based options in all public canteens). One of the main advantages II. The consumption of animal of our political approach is that we can spark products harms animals. large-scale societal debates with very little effort. III. The consumption of animal Also, many more people are inclined to politically products is unnecessary. support structural measures than are inclined to significantly change their consumer behaviour IV. Therefore, we should very quickly. not consume animal products. Counterintuitively, you can save many more animals with your wallet than with your plate. Empirical data shows that when we decide whether and where to donate, much more is at stake than with our food choices.
Adriano Mannino philosopher and co-founder of Sentience Politics
Cultured meat: Large scale dietary change to a plant-based diet may be difficult to bring about. But in the coming decades, we may see cultured meat repla cing conventional meat production. This means that cultured meat, together with cultured eggs and cultured milk, have the potential to solve the problem of factory farming entirely – and without requiring a large-scale change in dietary habits. For this reason, we believe that develo ping cultured meat is a potentially highly effective leverage point. Effective giving and earning to give
BY DONATING SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF MONEY TO THE BEST ORGANIZATIONS, WE CAN SAVE FAR MORE ANIMALS THAN WE WOULD DIRECTLY CONSUME OURSELVES.
Basic rights for primates: In the long This is because donations fund activists run, it is essential to change the underlying at NGOs to persuade lots of people to speciesist attitude of our society, not just make more animal-friendly food choices. its current (eating) behaviours. The legal recognition of basic rights for non-human Sentience Politics promotes those argu primates (particularly the rights to life and ments in the animal rights movement integrity) is a particularly promising leve and encourages activists to pursue rage point for changing speciesist attitu “earning to give” as a career. Those acti des. It would benefit only a small number vists deliberately take up lucrative jobs — of individuals directly, but it could play not in order to get rich, but in order to a crucial role in shaping the attitudes of donate a large fraction of their earnings future generations, and could subsequent to effective NGOs, where their donations ly be extended to other species. can enable several full-time jobs. Accomplishments
SENTIENCE POLITICS IS ALREADY MAKING POLITICAL HISTORY.
In the major Swiss cities of Basel and popular initiatives are legally binding Zurich, we demanded that all public can automatically leads to significant interest teens must offer at least one plant-based from both news media and the public meal option in their menus. Our demands alike. Numerous media articles were – backed by well-known politicians and dedicated to our initiative, and it even public figures – made it to the ballot, en became the focus of a full-length docu abling more than half a million citizens to mentary aired on national TV to hund take a binding vote on the country’s first- reds of thousands of viewers. Finally, a ever pro-vegan initiatives in 2017/2018. detailed justification of the initiative will be sent by mail to every household in the Switzerland’s direct democracy offers a two voting cities, allowing our message unique instrument for us to spark large- to reach hundreds of thousands of politi scale societal debates. The fact that cally interested citizens.
Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come. Victor Hugo writer (1802 — 1885) Our plans for the future
SENTIENCE POLITICS HAS AMBITIOUS PLANS FOR THE FUTURE. WE PLAN TO SYSTEMATICALLY SCALE UP AND EXTEND OUR ACTIVITIES INTERNATIONALLY.
This year witnessed us moving our Our policy papers form the basis of our headquarters from our country of origin, political initiatives. In Switzerland, we are Switzerland, to Germany. Now based in currently looking to secure another popu Berlin, one of Europe’s largest cultural and lar vote on basic rights for primates. We political centres, we have a solid platform also aim to launch an initiative on the nati from which to launch our future campa onal level in 2017 or 2018, possibly propo igns. We currently have initiatives planned sing a ban on factory farming. A political in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria; but campaign in Germany is also in the ma we’re only just getting started, and have king, wherein we will demand state funding set our sights on future initiatives in the for cultured meat research. We think that United Kingdom and the United States. our political initiatives are highly effective because they allow us to spread anti-spe We will continue to present our argu ciesist ideas to a broader audience. ments chiefly in the form of well-rese arched policy papers, each of which Alongside our direct political work, we elaborates our position on a wide range will continue to pursue effective meta- of issues relevant to anti-speciesism. In strategies – that is, general approaches addition to our already published papers that enhance the long-term capacities of on plant-based diets, basic rights for the animal movement itself. For example, primates, and cultured meat, we will pro most animal advocacy groups are limi duce rigorous position papers on issues ted in their impact by a constant lack of such as meat labelling, meat taxation, funding, meaning that any improvements and many more. By systematically pre to common fundraising strategies could senting rational arguments in this way, be pivotal to helping the entire movement we are able to reach influential decisi achieve its goals. Our systematic approach on-makers and intellectuals. At the same to this will be to spread ideas like effec time, our position papers provide access tive giving and earning to give within the to significant academic and political animal advocacy movement using online support for anti-speciesist ideas, thereby content, workshops and in-person follow- complementing the broad outreach of ups, whilst at the same time working to other animal advocacy organizations. identify new meta-strategies. Support us
BY DONATING TO SENTIENCE POLITICS, YOU ARE CASTING YOUR VOTE FOR A SOCIETY WHERE THE INTERESTS OF ALL SENTIENT BEINGS HAVE FULL MORAL AND POLITICAL CONSIDERATION, REGARDLESS OF SPECIES MEMBERSHIP.
We’re bringing this about by considering supporters and volunteers. We hope you every possible strategy – from helping the can join us in realizing our future plans. existing animal advocacy movement, to To keep up-to-date with the latest ideas finding new ways of attacking old problems. in making the world a better place for all Our focus on rationality and evidence sentient beings, like our page on Face means we can find and implement the best book or sign up to our mailing list. And to of these strategies as quickly and effec become part of the community that makes tively as possible. This is only possible world-changing ideas a reality, please due to our fast-growing community of support us with your donation today.
Bank account Recipient: Effective Altruism Foundation Efringerstrasse 25 CH-4057 Basel SWITZERLAND
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Visit our website: Get in touch: www.sentience-politics.org [email protected]