EA - Banding Together to Ban Octopus Farming by Tessa @ ALI

Link to original articleWelcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Banding Together to Ban Octopus Farming, published by Tessa @ ALI on November 30, 2022 on The Effective Altruism Forum.Who?The Aquatic Life Institute (ALI) is an international NGO working to improve the lives of aquatic animals exploited in the food system. Operating from effective altruism principles, ALI seeks to develop, support, and accelerate activities that have positive animal welfare impacts during rearing on farms and during capture in wild fisheries. ALI founded the first global alliance for aquatic animal welfare, the Aquatic Animal Alliance (AAA), now comprised of over 110 member organizations. As new issues arise in this space, we too must steer our efforts in an attempt to curb any additional aquatic animal suffering before it begins.What?The consumer appetite for octopus and squid continues to grow, but wild populations are unstable. The seafood industry is looking to fill the supply gap through new factory farming projects despite numerous environmental, social, public health and animal welfare concerns.ALI is implementing a global campaign that aims to increase public and legislative pressure on countries/regions where octopus farms are being considered to achieve a regulatory ban, and reduce future chances of these farms being created elsewhere. Additionally, we will work with corporations on procurement policies banning the purchase of farmed octopus.Why?The development of octopus farming casts a spotlight on the collection of concerns connected to these intensive practices. Rather than incentivizing the research and development of aquaculture that could be “efficient and cheap enough” to be commercialized, we should direct investment efforts towards innovative, alternative forms of seafood. From sustainable, environmental, and ethical perspectives, octopus farming should not exist.Campaign SummaryWe envision a future in which aquatic animal suffering is dramatically reduced in factory farms. Aquatic animal welfare is a highly neglected and tractable issue. Approximately 500 billion aquatic animals are farmed annually in high-suffering conditions and, to date, there is negligible advocacy aimed at improving welfare conditions for these remarkable beings. We support research to compare potential welfare interventions, and then advocate for the implementation of the most promising initiatives, with the aim of positively impacting aquatic lives for years to come.ALI unites nonprofits, academic institutions, industry stakeholders, and the public with the common goal of reducing aquatic animal suffering. Our internal research team identifies priorities in areas of uncertainty with the goal of creating a framework to compare the relative impact of different interventions. We then advocate for high aquatic animal welfare amongst key decision-makers that influence how aquatic animals are utilized (e.g. by industry), and how their welfare is defined and governed (e.g. by standards, certifications, policies and guidelines).ALI spearheads the Aquatic Animal Alliance (AAA), a historic global coalition that believes aquatic animals should lead lives free of industrial suffering. Founded in 2020, the AAA is modeled after Open Wing Alliance, Climate Justice Alliance, and other powerful coalition groups that have demonstrated we are strongest when we work together. Through this coalition, we work with over 110 animal protection organizations across six continents to collectively address the issues facing trillions of aquatic animals.A ban on cephalopod farming would call on all pillars of ALI’s operation (coalition building, research, and policy change) that could lead to monumental success and trigger institutional/market change.An overarching goal of this project is to launch a global initiative to increase public and legislative pressure on countri...