How I Learned to Love Shrimp

Sofia Balderson is the co-founder of Hive, formerly known as Impactful Animal Advocacy, an organisation that aims to improve coordination and collaboration in the farmed animal movement through cultivating impactful, intentional, and serendipitous communities Many listeners may be on the Impactful Advocacy Slack – a Slack workspace with over 2,000 animal advocates and a great place to connect, learn and share ideas. Today, we spoke with Sofia Balderson, one of the originators of that Slack Channel about lessons in starting new projects, the importance of facing rejection, how much you should listen to philanthropic funders to understand the value of your project and tangible ways to measure whether your work is providing value! This was a very fun and candid conversation which I really enjoyed, so I’m sure you all will too. Relevant links to things mentioned throughout the show: Our website: joinhive.org Chi from Global Vegan inspiration Hive Slack joining link Hive Newsletter (free biweekly) Hive volunteer moderator role Hive channel lead role (volunteer)Hive events Our Theory of Change (general + for each program)Our metrics: what we measure (including our OKRs and KPIs)Our impact estimates for 2023 and 2024Our cost-effectiveness estimates: spreadsheetOur Year in Review 2023: insights in our programs and resultsWeighted factor model explanationMy EA Forum post: Writing about my job: co-founder of an early stage charitySofia’s productivity course (Clariteam)Hive Fundraising wiki Rethink Priorities cross cause cost-effectiveness comparison toolLeader Lab book Obstacle is the way by Ryan Holiday The Daily Stoic by Ryan HolidayChapters ---------------- 00:00 // Start 04:25 // History of Hive/Impactful Animal Advocacy 06:43 // Who is the Hive Slack for? 10:24 // Hive's biggest challenges so far 14:19 // Example of projects that didn't work out 18:08 // How important is funder feedback? 26:30 If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - we would really appreciate it! Likewise, feel free to share it with anyone who you think might enjoy it. You can send us feedback and guest recommendations via Twitter or email us at hello@howilearnedtoloveshrimp.com. Enjoy!

Short but sweet episode this week from Ignacia, author of a recently released book, CEO of a leading organisation in Latin America and mother to two small kids. We're delighted that Ignacia took time out to talk to us about her experiences right across her contributions for animals. We chat about Fundacion veg and their campaigns in both diet change and animal welfare as well as the decision for Ignacia to scale down her organisation and what led to this decision. We talk about the importance of country context in campaigning and the challenges when working in this field across Latin America. We ran into a whole host of technical difficulties during this episode with unstable connections so please bear with us during the chat and why not head to youtube to see if you can spot the point at which an entire day passes before we resume filming for the remainder of the episode. Resources: www.fundacionveg.org@vegetarianos_hoy@ignaciauribe Como ser vegano HoyOpen Wing AllianceConnect For Animals newsletter@peter_singer@seb.alex@ryujichuaHow can people get more involved in your work? Are you hiring, do you need volunteers and where can people find you? We don’t have volunteers all year round, but we do calls when we need them, so stay tuned to our social media accounts. We plan to hire a COO this year, so I’d have more time to do lobbying and PR which I think I'm better at, we haven’t published it yet but am very excited for this role. Chapters ------------------------ 00:00 // Start 02:36 // Inspiring figures in the movement 05:42 // How to be Vegan Today 10:42 // Balncing work and writing 13:51 // Impact of writing a book to everyday activism 15:51 // The work of Fundacion Veg 23:48 // Approach to campaigning 30:06 // Humanitarian issues 32:01 // Alternate tactics to protesting 37:30 // Biggest successes 41:46 // Senate language case 45:38 // Biggest challenges in Latin America If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - we would really appreciate it! Likewise, feel free to share it with anyone who you think might enjoy it. You can send us feedback and guest recommendations via Twitter or email us at hello@howilearnedtoloveshrimp.com. Enjoy!

Bob Fischer is the Senior Research Manager at Rethink Priorities and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Texas State University. Can insects feel pain? Should people who care about chickens, cows and pigs also care about reducing the suffering of crickets or black soldier flies? In this episode with Bob Fischer from Rethink Priorities, we try to answer some of those questions, as well as talking about the rapidly growing insect industry, and possible ways for advocates to help farmed insects. We talk about lots of interesting content and research, for some of which there are excellent visualisations, which we’ll link to at the top of the show notes. I highly recommend checking out the Welfare Range Table and Rethink Priorities’ Welfare Range estimates to help better understand some of the points here, both of which are linked. Bob also had a great conversation on the 80,000 Hours Podcast about the moral weights project more broadly and how they want to try to compare welfare across different species of animals. We think they covered it very well, so we didn’t speak much about it today, so we’ll link it for interested folks. Relevant links to things mentioned throughout the show: Rethink Priorities Moral Weights ProjectWelfare Range estimates80,000 Hours podcastCan Insects Feel PainHow I Learned To Love Shrimp YouTube Channel handbook chapterBarn 8 by Deb Olin UnferthDominion by Matthew ScullyInsect Welfare Research SocietyRethink PrioritiesNewsletter for Insect Welfare Research SocietyNewsletter for Rethink Priorities If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - we would really appreciate it! Likewise, feel free to share it with anyone who you think might enjoy it. You can send us feedback and guest recommendations via Twitter or email us at hello@howilearnedtoloveshrimp.com. Enjoy!

Kristie Middleton is vice president of business development for Rebellyous Foods where she and her team help institutions add more plant-based options to their menus. Kristie’s also the author of MeatLess: Transform the Way You Eat and Live—One Meal at a Time and a long-time animal advocate. Rebellyous Foods has created novel manufacturing technology in order to make plant-based chicken more affordable to the masses. Mainly targeting food service providers such as universities and school districts, Kristie, who is Vice president of business development at the venture capital funded company, uses her experience from her days at The Humane Society to ensure that this product is a clean and price comparable product in those markets. A great episode for those interested in all things plant-based meats and how to scale a company providing this type of product to the masses. Relevant links to things mentioned throughout the show: MeatLess: Transform the Way You Eat and Live—One Meal at a Timeinterview with The Food Institute50% of all meals served in Sodexo university settingsRequest For ProposalsJosh Balk episodeAG funder interview re continuous process vs batchingPodcast: Business for GoodFood BizWizRebellyous Foods(00:00) START (04:23) ABOUT REBELLYOUS FOODS (09:31) PATENTED EQUIPMENT (16:47) EDUCATING THE CONSUMER (22:12) A GOOD APPROACH MAKES A DIFFERENCE (28:24) THE MOCK 2 (34:53) ADVANTAGES TO COMPANIES FOCUSED ON PROFIT (45:46) OTHER AREAS THAT NEED INNOVATION (51:38) MOMENTS THAT INSPIRED CAREER CHANGE (01:02:31) FOCUS ON THE MISSION (01:06:05) CLOSING QUESTIONS If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - we would really appreciate it! Likewise, feel free to share it with anyone who you think might enjoy it. You can send us feedback and guest recommendations via Twitter or email us at hello@howilearnedtoloveshrimp.com. Enjoy!

Jaya is a seasoned operational executive with a rich history of promoting animal welfare in the food retail sector. As the Co-founder and Chief Program Officer of Global Food Partners, a Singapore-based multinational consulting firm, he helps food and hospitality businesses implement their cage-free egg policies across Asia and reduce the cost of cage-free sourcing. A fascinating episode as we unpick the many advantages of working collaboratively with the industry to advance animal welfare. We chat about the key challenges to this type of work right now, animal welfare challenges in Asia generally and try to understand some of the key barriers for companies implementing improved animal welfare standards for the animals in their care. Jaya has an absolute wealth of knowledge and experience in this area so it was a real pleasure to hear about his important work and strategic approach. A great listen. Relevant links to things mentioned throughout the show: Global Food PartnersWelfare Matters fellowshipAhimsa fellowship in IndiaCurious Vedanth podcastAsia agribusiness podcastGlobal Food Partners Podcast Global Food Partners NewsletterChapter Headers: 0:02:38 Why GFP works collaboratively with companies 0:06:10 Market forces and why they matter 0:12:01 Making progress for cage free 0:18:21 Key insights from cage free work in India and Asia 0:20:11 Reputational risk and its limitations in Asia 0:25:59 Forecasting the Asian animal movement 0:31:18 The impact of global welfare commitments on Asian companies 0:36:45 The importance of social proof 0:39:39 Consumers or companies responsibility 0:50:00 Offset credits for cage-free procurement 0:54:51 Cost implications of going cage free 1:08:46 Pushback from other animal advocacy groups 1:12:30 GFP plan for expanding in more countries 1:19:00 Cage free vs broiler commitments in Asia 1:20:22 The need for ecosystems and GFP's work 1:23:02 Career advice for advocates in Asia 1:26:20 Cultivating personal motivation 1:29:24 Closing questions If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - we would really appreciate it! Likewise, feel free to share it with anyone who you think might enjoy it. You can send us feedback and guest recommendations via Twitter or email us at hello@howilearnedtoloveshrimp.com. Enjoy!

Lauren Mee is the CEO & Co-founder of Animal Advocacy Careers, an organisation that tries to match mission-aligned talent to opportunities that accelerate the end of factory farming. Lauren offloads all she knows about the hiring landscape right now when it comes to careers in animal advocacy. She talks us through some best practices and common pitfalls in the hiring process as well as her take on some of the more strategic questions when it comes to career progression in this space. Whether you are not yet working in the movement, a manager looking to hire or a mid-level employee looking to advance to something more senior, there is something for everyone in this episode. Relevant links to things mentioned throughout the show: Animal Advocacy CareersCharity Evaluation of Animal Advocacy CareersAAC Fundraising skill profile Policy skill profile Sentience Institute podcast AAC websiteAAC ICAPSAAC fundraising placement AAC Inclusive hiring process research AAC online course Laila Kassam talk on YouTubeGiving for Animals PledgeTania Luna books on managementManagement Centre No Rules RulesManaging to change the world New German legislation on animal welfare Animal Ask Meat Tax reportCal Newport – So good they can’t ignore youRange - why generalists trump specialists Mindset - Dr Carol DweckThe heart wisdom podcastCareer advising formIf you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - we would really appreciate it! Likewise, feel free to share it with anyone who you think might enjoy it. You can send us feedback and guest recommendations via Twitter or email us at hello@howilearnedtoloveshrimp.com. Enjoy!

Aaron Ross has spent over 20 years working for farmed animals. His relentless dedication to this cause has seen him co-found two major organisations, The Humane League and the Open Wing Alliance and train and advise countless others around the world on corporate relations and movement strategy. In this episode, we talk through an important topic, longevity, and discuss the advantages and pitfalls of this long-term dedication to this long-term fight. Aaron offers practical advice for those wanting to dedicate their career to helping animals and why staying involved over the long-term has immeasurable advantages. We’ve really enjoyed delving into a topic that touches less on the organisation goals and more on personal experiences of a deep topic so if you or anyone you know would like to come on to talk about a different area in this same vein, please let us know. Relevant links to things mentioned throughout the show: EASTThe Humane League CareersThe Humane League websiteOpen Wing Alliance This is an UprisingGood To Great, Level 5 leadership33 Strategies of WarHow organisations develop activistsDeep WorkA World Without EmailJocko Willink PodcastExtreme OwnershipMetamorphosisHypatiaCorporate Campaign Support If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - we would really appreciate it! Likewise, feel free to share it with anyone who you think might enjoy it. You can send us feedback and guest recommendations via Twitter or email us at hello@howilearnedtoloveshrimp.com. Enjoy!

Description: Tomasz Herok recently spent over 5 months working undercover on British factory farms, as part of an investigation by Open Cages, the UK branch of Anima International. [Trigger warning: graphic descriptions of animals suffering on factory farms throughout the episode] In this episode we understand the complexities involved in being an undercover investigator, what Tomasz’s role on the farm entailed during his time there and how he personally deals with the trauma presented. We also talk through the campaign that the footage was used for and what Tomasz needed to capture in order for this to be a success. An intense but incredibly in-depth look at the role of undercover investigators and what they witness on today's factory farms. Relevant links to things mentioned throughout the show: Tomasz & Open Cages video to shareFellow Creatures – Christine KorsgaardUnlearning economics – YouTube/podcastTech won’t save us - podcastIf you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - we would really appreciate it! Likewise, feel free to share it with anyone who you think might enjoy it. You can send us feedback and guest recommendations via Twitter or email us at hello@howilearnedtoloveshrimp.com. Enjoy!

Simon Newstead, entrepreneur turned impact investor, is a founding co-partner of Better Bite Ventures who back food-tech founders in Asia. In this episode, we deep dive into the world of alt protein and the different technologies available in the alternative protein space. We look at Asia specifically where Simon’s work is focussed as well as the challenges this industry is facing as a whole. We also quiz Simon on his view on the timelines we should work towards to see this global shift in consumption towards animal-free alternatives. Relevant links to things mentioned throughout the show: Better Bite Ventures: WebsiteBruce Friedrich, Good Food InstituteSeren Kell, Good Food InstituteRethink Welfare Range EstimatesDavid Humbird: Scale up economics for cultured meatRegulatory approval of cultivated meat in the USGood Food InstituteImpactful Animal Advocacy SlackRed to Green podcast The Counter articleresearchJohannes Ackva’s comment threadfirst replysecond reply If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - we would really appreciate it! Likewise, feel free to share it with anyone who you think might enjoy it. You can send us feedback and guest recommendations via Twitter or email us at hello@howilearnedtoloveshrimp.com. Enjoy!

In this episode, we speak to Wanyi Zeng, Executive Director of Welfare Matters, an organisation that is focused on building capacity for the farmed animal advocacy movement in Southeast Asia. We speak about the findings of Welfare Matters’ detailed and insightful report into the animal agriculture landscape in 6 key Southeast Asian countries, challenges facing the movement in Asia as well as Welfare Matters’ exciting plans to incubate new projects in the Asian farmed animal space. Links from the episode: Asia Farmed Animal DayCurious Vedanth podcast Future Food NowOne man’s view on the worldWelfare Matters NewsletterProgramme Coordinator If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - we would really appreciate it! Likewise, feel free to share it with anyone who you think might enjoy it. You can send us feedback and guest recommendations via Twitter or email us at hello@howilearnedtoloveshrimp.com. Enjoy!

Stien is the executive director of Animal Charity Evaluators, also known as ACE. Stien, wants to help people help animals and ACE tries to do that by finding and promoting the most effective ways to help animals. In this episode we speak with Stien Van Der Ploeg who is their fairly newly appointed executive director. We talk through the latest release of the recommendations for this year and go into some detail on why certain charities and their interventions were selected. We talk about why their work is so important, the difficulties in the recommendation process and their developing strategy for the upcoming year. Relevant links to things mentioned throughout the show: Recommended charity fund and matching offer (to Dec 6th)ACE 2023 recommendationsACE Team emails Menu of interventionsIntervention scores spreadsheetMenu of outcomesFaunalytics reviewLegal Impact for Chickens reviewGWWC evaluationACE Strategy DocOther organisations discussed in the episodeRethink PrioritiesScarlet SparkAnimal Legal Defense FundThe Mission Motor[Amy’s organisation] User-Friendly: Messaging WorkshopLead Together, by Tania LunaPodcast: Knowing AnimalsKnowing Animals: Episode 210: Saving Animals (and Ourselves) with Jeff Sebo (libsyn.com)Knowing Animals: Episode 168: Speaking with animals with Eva Meijer (libsyn.com)If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - we would really appreciate it! Likewise, feel free to share it with anyone who you think might enjoy it. You can send us feedback and guest recommendations via Twitter or email us at hello@howilearnedtoloveshrimp.com. Enjoy!

Today, we speak with Monica Chen, the Executive Director of New Roots Institute, formerly Factory Farming Awareness Coalition. We speak about several big topics: Monica is an inspiring organisational leader who spends lots of her time thinking about what can benefit the movement as a whole so it was a real pleasure to speak with her about these topics. Resources from our conversation: ACE 2023 Recommended CharitiesNew Roots Institute strategy and theory of changeWashington Post poll on climate solutionsLinkBuilding resilient organisationsHow not to dismantle white supremacyNew Roots Institute websiteIf you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - we would really appreciate it! Likewise, feel free to share it with anyone who you think might enjoy it. You can send us feedback and guest recommendations via Twitter or email us at hello@howilearnedtoloveshrimp.com. Enjoy!

Cameron is the executive director of Wild Animal Initiative, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of animals by accelerating the growth of wild animal welfare science. In this episode Cameron helps us to understand the vast topic of wild animal suffering. Cameron makes the compelling case for why we should invest resources into understanding how we can reduce wild animal suffering responsibly with data-backed interventions, improving the overall well-being of wild animals. We talk through the importance of Wild Animal Initiative’s research in this area, their grant-making arm which is enabling the research field in this area to grow and the future plans for their work. Relevant links to things mentioned throughout the show: Wild Animal Initiative website Animal Ethics websiteCricket Science Gameblog post explaining the projectCore concepts of wild animal welfare suffering Farmed and wild animal welfarePast interventions future welfare applicationsHouse sparrow researchWAI researcher community Positive wild animal welfareHeather Browning talkAn Immense WorldChildren of TimeNewsletter sign upDonateIf you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - we would really appreciate it! Likewise, feel free to share it with anyone who you think might enjoy it. You can send us feedback and guest recommendations via Twitter or email us at hello@howilearnedtoloveshrimp.com. Enjoy!

In this episode, we speak with Josh Balk who is the co-founder and CEO of The Accountability Board. Previously, he was vice president of farm animal protection for The Humane Society of the United States. In addition, he is a co-founder of EAT JUST, a food technology company. We spoke to him about a promising new strategy that he’s trying out, which is shareholder activism. In a nutshell, that involves doing something that seems counterintuitive, buying shares in the largest food companies that use animals as products, and trying to get them to change. On top of that, we also speak about the successes he’s had through ballot initiatives in the US. such as prop 12 in California, the EATS act, and US politics more generally. If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - we would really appreciate it! Likewise, feel free to share it with anyone who you think might enjoy it. You can send us feedback and guest recommendations via Twitter or email us at hello@howilearnedtoloveshrimp.com. Enjoy!

Aurelia is the Africa co-ordinator for the Open Wing Alliance where she supports African organisations with their cage-free campaigning efforts. In this episode Aurelia walks us through the state of the advocacy movement in Africa and the unique complexities of campaigning in this region. We hear Aurelia’s thoughts on progress in Africa and the importance of flexibility when devising and testing the strategies and tactics required to end cages in Africa. Relevant links to things mentioned throughout the show: Open Wing Alliance WebsiteDonate to the Open Wing AllianceMember organisationsWhich companies are leading the way on animal welfare in Africa?- Ranking ReportTicking Clock: The Rapid Rise of Farmed Animals in Africa - EA Forum PostAnimal welfare: A unique African Perspective - EA Forum Post If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - we would really appreciate it! Likewise, feel free to share it with anyone who you think might enjoy it. You can send us feedback and guest recommendations via Twitter or email us at hello@howilearnedtoloveshrimp.com. Enjoy!

Give us feedback on the podcast via this form! It should take just a few minutes and it would really help us improve the show. Thank you in advance, we really appreciate it. In this episode, we speak with Ines Kostic, a Member of the Regional Parliament in the Netherlands for the Dutch political Party for the Animals and manager of Animal Politics Foundation. We speak about the opportunities and challenges around advocating for animals within the political system, the impact the Dutch Party for Animals has had as well as what kind of people could be a good fit for politics. Links from our conversation: Dutch Party For the Animals 2021 manifestoThe end of animal farming – Jacy ReeseOur World in Data – animal welfare & environment pagesFaunalyticsList of national animal welfare parties (if you scroll down)Contact: info@animalpoliticsfoundation.nl If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - we would really appreciate it! Likewise, feel free to share it with anyone who you think might enjoy it. You can send us feedback and guest recommendations via Twitter or email us at hello@howilearnedtoloveshrimp.com. Enjoy!

Neil Dullaghan is a Senior Research Manager in the animal welfare department at Rethink Priorities. Neil also holds a PhD in Political Science and is a fund manager of the Effective Altruism Animal Welfare Fund. In this episode Neil talks us through his policy research in the EU as well as other exciting projects and impactful research that Rethink Priorities has produced and includes some of the most obscure resource recommendations to date! Relevant links to things mentioned throughout the show: Rethink Priorities WebsiteStrategic considerations for upcoming EU farmed animal legislation - Rethink Priorities research by NeilOther Neil publicationsRevolutions: The Revolutions of 1848 - Mike DuncanHistory of Rome - Mike Duncan (Podcast)Engines of Liberty - David ColeDefeating Authoritarian Leaders in Postcommunist Countries - Valerie J. Bunce, Sharon L. WolchikDanish political drama - Borgen - Season 3If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - we would really appreciate it! Likewise, feel free to share it with anyone who you think might enjoy it. You can send us feedback and guest recommendations via Twitter or email us at hello@howilearnedtoloveshrimp.com. Enjoy!

In this episode, we spoke to Karolina from Charity Entrepreneurship (CE) about the new animal charities they want to incubate in their next program (starting February 2024), what the benefit of joining their charity incubator is, as well as how they select which charities to incubate. If you’ve ever considered launching a charity to help animals, then this is the podcast for you! If you have a friend that has toyed with the possibility of starting their own project – then please do share this with them! Links from the episode: summary of Charity Entrepreneurship's newest ideasapplication formLewis Bollard's farmed animal newsletterCorporate campaigns researchHow to Measure Anything by Douglas W.Hubbard Charity Entrepreneurship contact form karolina@charityentrepreneurship.comrika@charityentreprenuership.com If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - we would really appreciate it! Likewise, feel free to share it with anyone who you think might enjoy it. You can send us feedback and guest recommendations via Twitter or email us at hello@howilearnedtoloveshrimp.com. Enjoy!

We interviewed Amanda Hungerford, Farm Animal Welfare Program Officer at Open Philanthropy. Open Philanthropy is one of the largest funders of farmed animal welfare, giving tens of millions of dollars each year. We spoke to Amanda about common misconceptions about Open Philanthropy's grantmaking, challenges with corporate campaigns, strategies that Amanda is excited about, and much more. This was a really exciting episode for us to record so we hope you enjoy it too! If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - we would really appreciate it! Likewise, feel free to share it with anyone who you think might enjoy it. You can send us feedback and guest recommendations via Twitter or email us at hello@howilearnedtoloveshrimp.com. Enjoy!

We are celebrating our 10th podcast episode - Yay! To celebrate, we interviewed Andrés Jiménez Zorrilla from the Shrimp Welfare Initiative who inspired the name of our podcast, How I Learned to Love Shrimp. Shrimp Welfare Project is the only organisation solely dedicated to improving the lives of shrimp. In this episode we talk about the case for working on shrimp, the current scale of and practices within shrimp farming, as well as what Shrimp Welfare Project have learned over the past 2 years. Thanks to all of our listeners so far and we look forward to the next 10! Some resources that were mentioned in this report: Charity Entrepreneurship: Shrimp Welfare ReportShrimp Welfare Project: Shrimp Welfare ReportShrimp Welfare Project: India Assessment ReportLinkedIn: Shrimp fact of the weekBenjamin Lorr: The Secret Life of GroceriesMelinda French-Gates: The Moment of LiftJob Postings for Shrimp Welfare ProjectLink to Donate to the Shrimp Welfare Project If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - we would really appreciate it! Likewise, feel free to share it with anyone who you think might enjoy it. You can send us feedback and guest recommendations via Twitter or email us at hello@howilearnedtoloveshrimp.com. Enjoy!