ACE News: October 2022

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OCTOBER 2022

ACE UPDATES

The Most Numerous Animal Groups and Species

Animals suffer in various ways, and different problems call for different solutions. To prioritize what problems to focus on, we find it helpful to consider the scale of each problem. This page discusses one important aspect of scale: the number of individuals in various animal groups and species.

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What Is the Effect of Cage-Free Corporate Outreach Egg-Laying Hens’ Welfare?

Corporate outreach is likely to positively affect egg-laying hen welfare if corporations follow through on their cage-free commitments because cage-free systems are higher welfare than battery cage systems. To understand the effect of corporate outreach on the welfare of egg-laying hens, we examined the effectiveness of corporate outreach on changing welfare practices and the welfare implications of switching to cage-free systems. Read the results in our research brief.

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RESEARCH RECAP

In this study, researchers tested whether activating people’s inner conflict about meat consumption would increase their likelihood of choosing vegetarian food. In an online and a field experiment, participants who were asked to reflect on whether they value animal welfare reported higher cognitive dissonance about meat consumption than a control group. In turn, they were more likely to order a vegetarian food option over a meat-based one. The findings indicate that value activation could be used in meat reduction strategies.

This review summarizes research on consumer behavior toward cultured meat published since 2014. Overall, research finds that current meat eaters who want to reduce their meat consumption show the strongest interest in cultured meat. A key barrier to consumer acceptance of cultured meat is its perceived unnaturalness. Therefore, marketing should focus on making cultured meat appear less unnatural, e.g., by avoiding overly technical terms. In line with this, research finds that consumers prefer “clean meat” over other terms.

In this study, researchers explored if and how people who identify as meat eaters, meat reducers, and occasional meat eaters differ in their meat consumption and attitudes. Self-identified meat eaters, meat reducers, and occasional meat eaters reported different levels of lamb and pork consumption but not beef and chicken consumption. This suggests that some types of meat are more difficult to reduce and that self-reported dietary categories are not perfect predictors of actual meat consumption.

View the full list of research related to farm animal advocacy

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MONTHLY SPOTLIGHT

Jennifer Barckley, The Humane League

Jennifer Barckley is the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Top Charity The Humane League (THL). She leads strategic communications, including branding, omnichannel content, customer relationship management, social media, advertising, search engine optimization, public relations, design, and video production. After joining the organization in 2018, she spearheaded THL’s global rebrand, earning a finalist spot in the Shorty Awards for best Brand Redesign. Learn more about Jennifer and her top communications tips on our website.

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FROM THE MOVEMENT

LAST CHANCE! Top Charity Wild Animal Initiative (WAI) is giving large grants for two very specific themes with related tracks that seek to address unanswered questions in wild animal welfare. WAI is inviting interested groups to prepare a proposal for a project of up to $200k. Apply by December 2, 2022.

New Harvest’s Science Engine is a combination of fast grants and crowdfunding, with each focus area led by science leads who have a unique viewpoint in their field. They recently released their first seven Cellular Agriculture Science Engine projects and grantees that they’ve supported through this program.

New research explored consumer perceptions of “animal-free dairy” (AFD) made using precision fermentation and food biotech in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Singapore. The authors found a cautious openness to the idea of AFD. Outright opposition was rare, but so was blatant enthusiasm due to questions raised about the technological process, its overall safety, and its potential effect on individual health. Read the paper here.