All I want for my 26th birthday is for you to help some animals :)

Four years ago, I decided to stop eating animal products. I had my eyes opened to the realities of our food system and decided that I did not want to continue to support an industry that unnecessarily harms animals. In these past four years I've taken several different stances on this issue, including some that I no longer agree with at all. I'm so happy to know now that being vegan is not a prerequisite for helping animals in the food system. So, regardless of your eating habits, this fundraiser is for you!

I would love for you to join me in raising funds for the Effective Altruism Animal Welfare Fund (AWF). Humans have made some incredible advancements to increase the quantity and rate of producing animals (and animal products like eggs and milk) for food. These advancements have helped feed an ever-growing population, but have serious, often unseen costs that we cannot afford to ignore. The AWF enables us as individuals to contribute to a shared fund which means the money we raise will be added to a pool which can be used to support small- and large-scale interventions. One of their key long-term objectives that resonates strongest with me is to end the confinement of egg-laying hens globally. It is estimated that there are 8.3 billion (yes, with a B) egg-laying hens in the world, 3.5 billion of them living in cages. These are typically "battery cages" -- just 65 square inches (for reference, a standard piece of computer paper in the US is 96 square inches), providing them far less space than they need to perform basic life-functions like preen their feathers, flap their wings, or even stand up. Cage-free systems are far from perfect, but they significantly reduce the pain experienced by hens and allow for more natural behaviors. Though I hope to see much greater improvements for the living conditions of egg-laying hens, transitioning to cage-free is a critical first step that meaningfully reduces suffering. If you eat eggs, I recommend looking for pasture-raised for the highest quality egg and highest quality of life for the hen.

I'm excited to support the AWF for my birthday because I know their team has connections within the animal advocacy and effective altruism spaces that help them find promising funding opportunities to help the most animals, to the most significant degree. They also maintain a rigorous evaluation and tracking processes to ensure those opportunities achieve the highest possible impact per dollar.

To really put the FUN in fundraiser, celebrate raising more than $260 for animals (because I know we will) and commemorate 26 years on Earth, I am going to try to do 2,600 push-ups in one day. That's 108 push-ups every hour for 24 hours or 216 every hour for 12 hours. I have been working out but I'm honestly pretty sure this is not within my body's capabilities. But we'll see! Follow my instagram @happily.hayden to see how I do :)