Animal Ethics and Speciesism

Statue of world’s first space cat ‘Felicette’ to be erected in France.

Note: This is an interview of mine with Tina Jauin of the Animal Scene Magazine. The article she wrote from this interview came out in the paper magazine in July this year, as well as online in the PressReader version of the July edition of Animal Scene.

TJ: What does animal ethics mean?

SRC: Animal ethics is very easy to understand. It is not as complicated as many people make it seem to be. For me, it doesn’t require philosophical theory and understanding. Even a child understands animal ethics. Animal ethics is simply about how we see animals. How we see them is how we consider them. How we consider them defines our relationship with them. It is how we treat them. If we see them as less than us, then we treat them less. The ethical treatment of animals is an expression of our understanding of their moral standing. That’s why young children easily befriend animals or at least don’t hurt them. They understand that animals are like them and can feel pain and happiness too. So basically, animal ethics is recognizing the moral standing of animals, that like ours, their lives are valuable too.

Veganism, the Climate Crisis, and a Multi-Billion-Dollar Opportunity

The good news is, there is a climate solution that we can readily be part of, right now. We don’t have to wait to make the change. https://www.blogto.com/city/2019/01/vegans-protesters-block-toronto-intersection-protest-climate-change/

Note: This is an article I wrote for the Climate Reality 11th Hour Column at the Manila Bulletin. The published article is slightly edited, but in this blog, I’m posting my original article in full. Click here for the published piece with the Manila Bulletin.

A few years ago, this statement came splashed all over newspapers, magazines, and social media: “A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth, not just greenhouse gases, but global acidification, eutrophication, land use, and water use.” It came from Joseph Poore, an Oxford researcher. Poore looked at the overall impact of our food systems on the environment.

10 Myths and Facts about Veganism

Banner of the Nutrition Month feature of The Climate Reality Philippines.

In celebration of Nutrition Month, the Climate Reality Project Philippines asked me to write 8 Myths and Facts about Veganism to be featured in the monthly #Clim8 Listicle. The original feature came out on Facebook a few days ago. You can find it here.

I actually wrote ten instead of eight myths and facts and would like to share the full list here with you.

Heal us, heal the planet

The event poster was grabbed from the VegFest Facebook page.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of being back at VegFest Pilipinas as a panelist. It is the fifth year of VegFest and the first ever online. The preparations and actual broadcast were impressive, and I congratulate Vegans of Manila for yet again another successful festival.

I was the climate speaker at the very first Vegfest four years ago and I’m glad that now, there are more environmentalists practicing veganism. Also, the topic in the panel I am in this year is really very important, given that climate change has been wreaking havoc on my country, with one super typhoon coming after another; the pandemic still roaring, and health issues becoming a real concern for many during quarantine.

Can veganism help propel governments forward?

This is a late post I am writing about one of my favorite things that happened in October. I participated in the Philippine Society of Public Administrators (PSPA) International Virtual Conference where I wore two hats, as a presenter on veganism, and as a facilitator in the foresight game Dreams and Disruptions, which our team at the Center for Engaged Foresight developed.