“The suffering of a farmed animal is equal in size to the happiness of a human, according to a survey” by Stijn

Author: Stijn Bruers, researcher economics KU Leuven Short summary According to a survey among a representative sample of the Belgian population, most people believe that farmed animals like chickens have the same capacity for suffering as humans, and that most farmed land animals (broiler chickens) have negative welfare levels (i.e. experience more suffering than happiness). The average suffering of a farmed land animal, estimated by people, is equal in size to the positive welfare of an average human (in Belgium) whereas the welfare level of a wild bird is zero on average. Given the fact that there are more farmed animals than humans in the world, and that the populations of small farmed animals (chickens, fish, shrimp and insects) are increasing, most people would have to come to the conclusion that net global welfare (of humans, farmed animals and wild animals combined) is negative and declining. People who care [...] ---Outline:(00:13) Short summary(03:55) Methodology(03:59) Welfare estimation(05:07) Survey distribution(05:55) Survey design(11:50) Data analysis(17:00) Results(17:03) Demographics(17:52) Welfare range(18:51) Welfare index(20:02) Discussion(20:05) Combining the welfare range and welfare index(20:52) Representativeness and subgroup estimates(22:25) Order effects(23:49) Welfare asymmetry(26:15) Survey effect on personal meat consumption(26:45) Conclusion--- First published: May 21st, 2024 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/MP4rNBu6ftG4QE3nL/the-suffering-of-a-farmed-animal-is-equal-in-size-to-the --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.