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Luke Freeman

We're thrilled to announce that we've just passed 6,000 members of The Pledge! We're growing faster than ever, with 1,000 new members in only eight months.

May 2021 Newsletter

We're thrilled to announce that we've just passed 6,000 members of 

! We're growing faster than ever, with 1,000 new members in only eight months.

Thanks in no small part to those of you who have helped 

We hope to continue our growth by exploring new avenues, including appearing on more podcasts, collaborating with YouTube channels, giving talks in workplaces and universities, and developing original rich content. 

 us with any of these (or in any other ways).

We also ask that you take a few minutes to 

send a message to your favourite content creators

 suggesting that they cover these topics, have us as a guest, or collaborate with us.

We hope you enjoy the rest of this newsletter which will cover our upcoming events, the latest from our blog, and news and updates about effective giving.

Come along and meet other people who are committed to effectively using their resources to improve the world:

:
Do the most good with your money for yourself and others


:
Explore the most effective ways to combat climate change


:
Ask anything, discuss donations, meet effective givers


If you have any questions or want to discuss your donation decisions with other members or our team, we recommend registering for an Open Forum event. 

Our volunteers have released more in our 

Charity begins at home; shouldn't we solve our own problems before helping others?

Shouldn't we address human suffering before working to reduce animal suffering?

Shouldn't we focus on economic growth, which can lift people out of poverty?

Do effective altruists only value short-term, measurable outcomes?

 written when signing up to a pledge give us so much inspiration that we decided to share some -- 

 in 2021. We have also made significant updates to the 

 platform and its resources (we invite you to apply for sponsorship).

, Dutch historian and author, recently took the Giving What We Can Pledge (adding to the number of 

'If you believe everyone is equal, why are you so rich?'

 (retired librarian and social worker from the USA).

why he dedicated his birthday to the Against Malaria Foundation

So much of our progress this month is due to our fantastic team of volunteers (of which you're welcome to 

", member Michelle Hutchinson shares some touching stories of people she's come across in the effective altruism community who are devoted to doing good.

The 80,000 Hours podcast interviewed Member Howie Lempel about having an impactful career 

while managing depression, anxiety, and imposter syndrome

 onto their list of high priority career paths and released a 

template for planning a high impact career

 (a set of structured readings meant to teach the core ideas of effective altruism).

The Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA) published 

 on their activity in the first quarter of 2021.

thoughts on people being "overqualified" for EA positions

Pairagraph published a four-part series between member Stefan Schubert and Judith Lichtenberg 

debating the benefits of effective altruism

", deluks917 shared how their own difficult experiences have motivated them to use their resources to help others.

"When we unlock the altruism in others, we give the gift of giving," wrote member Aaron Mayer in "

 to support their work on AI policy and governance and forecasting.

The EA Animal Welfare Fund has released a 

Member Bruce Freidrich and Liz Specht from Good Food Institute (GFI) were 

 about creating a world where alternative protein "tastes as good or better, and costs the same or less" as today's animal products.

The reduction of animal products is getting politicised in the US, with 

partisan conflict over eating animals on the rise

Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE) shared a list of 

Better Chicken Commitment from Burger King

 in the UK, which will reduce the suffering of chickens raised for meat sold at more than 500 UK locations.

, which Vox called "easily one of the biggest successes of the animal welfare movement."

"Some animals are more equal than others"

 by Garrett Broad explores the complex disparities in how we afford moral value to animals.

in-depth article about wild animal welfare

Vox's Kenny Torrella summarises a recent GFI report about 

the current state of the plant-based food industry

bipartisan support is growing for carbon capture

meat cultivated directly from cells can result in

 up to 92% less global warming, 93% less air pollution, 95% less land use, and 78% less water use.

Climate scientist Kimberly Nicholas explains 

Germany's supreme constitutional court has ruled that the government's 

climate protection measures are insufficient to protect future generations

 confirmed a significant lead paint problem is likely affecting hundreds of thousands of people in Malawi. They also rolled out paint studies in new countries and have seen great success in our advocacy in Malawi, which could decrease poisoning in around 373,000 children.

Give Directly was selected as one of FastCompany's 

most innovative not-for-profit organisations

 for their COVID-19 pandemic response. They received one of their first-ever Dogecoin donations 

 reached 54,430 recipients in just one week (more recipients than GD reached in all of 2019).

new malaria vaccine is a total game-changer

AMF raised $100 million this year and have an 

Member Kelsey Piper published on Vox some 

effective ways to donate to help with India's Covid-19 crisis

Long-term future, existential risks, & emerging technologies

Prevent Epidemics released a new website looking at 

Skype founder Jaan Tallinn was on the Future of Life Institute podcast talking about 

Avoiding Civilisational Pitfalls and Surviving the 21st Century

The Centre for the Study of Existential Risk has released a new report looking at 

bridging the gap between global risk and policy engagement

how the US government is thinking about shaping AI policy

 has launched, its goal is to inform people interested in reducing the threats from lethal autonomous weapons.

", the New York Times explores the most important contributors to increases in human life spans over recent centuries.

 could be a new cause for effective altruists to consider.

Tim Ferriss, Michael Pollan, and Dr Matthew W. Johnson did an AMA on the EA Forum about 

Member Marius Hobbhahn writes alongside Dominik Hermle about whether 

Join other members in the Giving What We Can community 

 with Giving What We Can and effective altruism.

Discuss effective giving and effective altruism on the 

Do you have questions about the pledge, Giving What We Can, or effective altruism in general? Check out our 

Floris Wolswijk

Birthdays happen every year, but this year it was different. I turned 30 and decided to do something unconventional. Instead of gifts, I asked my friends and family to contribute to the fight against malaria. It turned out to be the most satisfying birthday, so far.

I Dedicated My Birthday to the Against Malaria Foundation

For the past six years, I've been involved in the effective altruism community as an organizer of a local group in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Since 2015 I've been a Giving What We Can member and have donated 10% of my income to effective charities with the hopes of improving the world.

By organizing our local group, I have encouraged others to donate to effective charities and deepened my understanding of effective altruism. But I could only get my friends to join an event now and then, and struggled to engage them more deeply with "

" Then it struck me: what if I dedicated my birthday to a highly recommended charity --- the 

 (AMF)? Would that be a way to encourage my friends to donate?

My birthday proved to be a highly effective avenue for getting my friends involved. One week before my birthday, I started contacting friends. The message I sent highlighted the work being done by AMF and the impact that even a small contribution would have. Of course, my messages also genuinely asked how my friends were doing. This was not only a fundraiser, it was a way for me to connect to close friends and acquaintances whom I hadn't spoken to in a while.

Nearly everyone I contacted responded to my messages, and more than 70% donated to AMF! I offered to match each donation and the total amount raised was a mighty $2,875.

 was that some of my friends really surprised me. One friend, whom I didn't see regularly and who had recently started as a junior doctor, made a $300 donation. And more than one friend asked me how to not only make a donation but how to make it a recurring one.

The birthday fundraiser was the best thing I have tried to encourage friends and family to donate. I think running a birthday fundraiser is also something you can do. If you're inspired, you can find some guidance on Giving What We Can's "

" page. The page even includes a tool to set a birthday reminder!

Next year, I will be doing another fundraiser for an effective charity. I might make it even more exciting by adding a challenge (for instance, I could run a mile for each donation). And --- who knows? --- maybe it will be an even more awesome birthday than the last one.

Andrew Leeke

Surbhi Bharadwaj

 about charity. Taking time to learn the facts will help prevent the spread of misinformation and inspire more people to use their resources effectively to improve the world.

Is it wrong to focus on animal welfare when humans are suffering?

" This question carries an implicit assumption that many of us believe: nonhuman animals are not as worthy of moral consideration as humans.

Upon consideration, however, it's difficult to justify the assumption that humans are more worthy of moral consideration than animals. Animals have inner lives and the capacity to suffer, just like humans do. If we want to make the world a better place, we should try to reduce suffering --- regardless of who is experiencing it. Moreover, alleviating human suffering and alleviating animal suffering are not mutually exclusive. We can do both!

Many humans love and value nonhuman animals. 

 that interacting with nonhuman animals (at home, at petting zoos, or even in an aquarium) can lower anxiety and stress. It can even lower heart rate and blood pressure. Though 

, more than half of U.S. households include at least one companion animal. One study 

 that dog owners feel as emotionally close to their dogs as they do to their closest family members.

Yet, while we love the animals we interact with daily, many people --- perhaps the majority of the planet --- live lifestyles and maintain diets that harm animals around the globe. It seems that many of us carry an implicit assumption that, while they're loveable, nonhuman animals are not worthy of the same level of moral consideration as humans. 

 even believe that animals do not deserve moral consideration at all. In other words, while humans have certain moral obligations to each other (e.g., we have an obligation not to harm each other), some believe that we have no such obligations to nonhuman animals. This belief is convenient, as it allows us to justify common lifestyle and dietary choices that cause suffering to 

Upon reflection, it's quite difficult to justify the belief that humans deserve moral consideration and animals do not. Our treatment of animals cannot be justified by the simple fact that animals are a different species from us. Philosopher Peter Singer likens discrimination based on species membership to discrimination based on race, gender, or any other feature of identity:

"[T]he racist violates the principle of equality by giving greater weight to the interests of members of his own race, when there is a clash between their interests and the interests of those of another race. Similarly the speciesist allows the interests of his own species to override the greater interests of members of other species. The pattern is the same in each case."

Humans and nonhuman animals all have inner lives and the capacity to suffer. It's true that humans and animals differ in many ways, and it is difficult for us to know the degree to which the suffering of one species resembles the suffering of another. Still, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that nonhuman animals suffer a great deal, whether in factory farms or in the wild. Each year, 

, and countless animals suffer disease, hunger, and predation 

The scale of animal suffering is so large that the opportunity to have a positive impact by advocating for animals is enormous. Effectively advocating for the welfare of nonhuman animals remains a highly cost-effective way to do good in the world.

We don’t have to choose between helping humans and helping animals.

Luckily, we don't need to choose between helping only humans and helping only animals. The two are intimately linked. For instance, in addition to the suffering they cause, factory farms 

. We need not complete one project (ending all human suffering) before beginning another (addressing animal suffering). After all, it's not clear that ending human suffering will ever be "complete."

There are many effective organisations working on animal welfare. See our 

Blog

May 2021 Newsletter

I Dedicated My Birthday to the Against Malaria Foundation

Shouldn't we address human suffering before working to reduce animal suffering?

Giving What We Can is Sponsoring 2021 Charity Elections

Shouldn’t we just focus on economic growth to lift people out of poverty?

Charity begins at home; shouldn't we solve our own problems before helping others?

Member Profile: Achim Fischbach

Do effective altruists only value short-term, measurable outcomes?

Member Profile: Sonya and Carl Christensen

April 2021 Newsletter