‘Saving Animals, Saving Ourselves’: What harms them harms us
In order to develop ethical and effective policies, we need to consider humans, animals, and the environment holistically. We need to build political, economic, and ecological structures that accommodate everyone.
MARC BEKOFF: NYU professor Jeff Sebo’s book, Saving Animals, Saving Ourselves: Why Animals Matter for Pandemics, Climate Change, and other Catastrophes is one of those eclectic works that asks us step out of our comfort zones and consider how, for example, our treatment of nonhuman animals (animals) has wide-ranging global effects that trespass in numerous areas, some of which are included in his subtitle.
In his wide-ranging and forward-looking book, Jeff very effectively argues that “humans have a moral responsibility to include animals in global health and environmental policy.” In all honesty, reading Saving Animals, Saving Ourselves made me once again come to the realization that if we all don’t work together, no one, perhaps especially future generations of humans and nonhumans whose lives we are seriously compromising, will get out of here alive.1,2
I’m pleased Jeff could answer a few questions about how saving animals will help us save ourselves and our fascinating, magnificent, and troubled planet…
MB: What are some of your main topics and messages in the book?
JS: The book argues that humans should harm other animals less, for instance by ending factory farming, deforestation, and the wildlife trade, and that we should also help them more, for instance by including animal welfare in impact assessments and policy decisions regarding education, employment, social services, infrastructure, and much more. Along the way, I discuss several other related themes as well. For example:
The Anthropocene blurs the distinction between natural and human-caused harms. Many people assume that we should leave wild animals alone. But in a world reshaped by human activity, leaving wild animals alone is no longer an option. Human activity is already impacting wild animals, both directly and indirectly, whether we like it or not. The only question now is how, if at all, we can improve our impacts on wild animals…
Progress requires holistic, structural, comprehensive change. In order to develop ethical and effective policies, we need to consider humans, animals, and the environment holistically. We need to build political, economic, and ecological structures that accommodate everyone. And we need to consider the indirect effects of our actions and policies, including the effects that human-caused environmental changes will have on other animals. SOURCE…
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