Weighing Welfare with Rethink Priorities & The London Effective Giving Community

If we want to do as much good as possible, we have to compare all the ways of doing good, including ways that involve helping members of different species. But do benefits to humans count the same as benefits to chickens? What about chickens vs. carp? Carp vs. honey bees? In 2024, Bob Fischer and his team published a book on this called Weighing Animal Welfare: Comparing Well-being Across Species that tackles these questions. We are delighted to welcome him to speak to us about it.
Bob Fischer is a Senior Researcher at Rethink Priorities and a Professor at Texas State University. Rethink Priorities tackles complex, high-impact problems that influence philanthropic priorities and resource allocation.
Bob will discuss how to think about trade-offs between people and animals, focusing squarely on practical questions about trying to do the most good possible with your donations. He'll also cover some of the more recent work that Rethink Priorities has been doing and how it might help you to make decisions.
There'll also be a Q&A and a chance to meet and socialise with other people interested in giving effectively. We hope to see you there!
The London Effective Giving Community is part of a growing global movement of over 10,000 people giving a meaningful portion of their income to high-impact nonprofits. We pool our donations to tackle the world’s most pressing problems. Many of us have taken the 🔸10% Pledge, the 🔹Trial Pledge, or the 🌍 1% Pledge. We also warmly welcome those seriously exploring Effective Giving as a way to deepen their impact.