Human progress has come at the expense of animals. It doesn’t have to

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🗞️ Driving the news: The rising numbers of farmed animals might be tilting the scales of global welfare towards suffering, posing a moral dilemma concerning animal welfare

🔭 The context: History has shown that the human condition has vastly improved over the centuries, with less poverty, hunger, and preventable diseases
• This progress contrasts sharply with the conditions of farmed animals, whose populations have exploded and whose lives are often short and filled with suffering

🌎 Why it matters for the planet: The juxtaposition of human prosperity and animal suffering raises profound ethical questions, mattering not just for the billions of animals in distress, but also casting a shadow on human morality and the sustainability of our food systems

⏭️ What's next: Solutions like plant-based meat alternatives and lab-grown cultured meat offer a glimpse of hope, and policy reforms can alleviate the suffering of farmed animals
• The real shift, however, would need to come from a profound change in our moral values and consumption habits

💬 One quote: "The entire good of humanity may be outweighed by the cumulative suffering of farmed animals, with total animal suffering growing faster than human well-being is increasing, especially in recent decades.” (Bryan Walsh, Editorial Director) 

📈 One stat: The human population has more than tripled over the past 60 years, from 3 billion to 8 billion
• However, this growth is dwarfed by the population of farmed animals, with the number of chickens alone being four times more than humans

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