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Turning adversaries into allies to change the chicken industry | Leah Garcés (2021)

80,000 HoursLeah Garcés, Craig Watts, Rob Wiblin
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  • The "three-year strategic plan" under finalization will govern decision-making, resource allocation, and impact goals, with specific integration of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) to broaden demographics beyond the current predominantly white liberal atheist staff.
  • International expansion efforts, prioritized by the "Farm Animal Opportunity Index" and its assessment of scale, tractability, and global influence, target regions containing 98% of farmed animals, including Southeast Asia, East Asia, India, Brazil, and China, with a Singapore office planned for establishment this year.
  • A "tipping point" in the animal food market is projected where the price of meat rises and plant-based costs decline due to internalized welfare costs, eventually making plant-based options the rational economic choice for consumers rather than a purely moral one.
  • The organization anticipates a shift in industry reform from eggs to broiler chickens, while fish welfare remains largely unaddressed, and expects major companies to transition to cell-based "clean meat" by retrofitting existing animal-processing equipment with bioreactors.
  • Public awareness building is characterized as a multi-decade endeavor requiring significant resources, with enforcement of corporate pledges estimated to consume approximately 50% of total campaign resources to prevent backsliding.
  • The "Transformation" project aims to create a resource hub offering two distinct pathways for farmers to exit the industry based on debt levels, supported by the "Farm Systems Reform Act" for debt relief, while operating independently as a separate organization or profit business once scaled.
  • Strategic risks include the "unsustainable" nature of current poultry farming, where 50% of farmers are losing money, potentially leading to a labor shortage filled by international visa holders and "mega farms" described as a "nightmare" scenario.
  • Legislative and political strategies involve leveraging EU trade standards to influence global rules, supporting the "Farm Animal Opportunity Index" analysis, and potentially establishing a 510c4 political entity or an international IPCC-style panel for factory farming to drive global targets and R&D funding.
  • The organization projects eventual self-termination upon mission success, aiming to render Mercy for Animals obsolete by replacing factory farming, while simultaneously anticipating the end of the current farming model due to arable land constraints projected to reach 10 billion people by 2050.
  • Operational constraints include "ag-gag laws" in 13 U.S. states necessitating alternative investigation methods like drones or invited open filming, alongside skepticism regarding the Biden administration's agricultural priorities despite potential climate change overlaps.