With the support of THINKClima and the UPF-Centre for Animal Ethics, CritiCC Member Núria Almiron has edited with Catia Faria a special issue on environmental and animal defense published by the American Behavioral Scientist journal.

The controversy between the ultimate aims of environmental defense, on one hand, and animal defense, on the other, is a much unexplored topic. This special issue aims to fill this gap by gathering original thinking and outstanding research connected to the topics. The editors hope the unique discussion provided in this special issue is of help to philosophers, animal and environmental ethicists, critical animal studies scholars, and environmental sociologists, as well as to researchers in the fields of advocacy, communication, ecology, psychology, and anthrozoology.

The special issue includes the following papers by CritiCC Members Núria Almiron and Laura Fernández:

Almiron, N. & Faria, C. (2019). Environmental and Animal Defense. (Introduction by the editors)

Almiron, N. (2019). Greening Animal Defense? Examining Whether Appealing to Climate Change and the Environment Is an Effective Advocacy Strategy to Reduce Oppression of Nonhumans 

Abstract

Animal advocates are uncertain about whether it is effective to use environmental or climate change messages emphasizing the impact on global warming of factory farming along with, or even in place of, more radical and ideological messages emphasizing justice, abolition, and cruelty toward other animals. Particularly, the real, long-term effectiveness of environment-based arguments in general, and climate change arguments in particular, is unclear. This article attempts to contribute to this discussion by examining some of the reasons that best support or refute the use of an environmental frame for the defense of nonhuman animals from a nonspeciesist and abolitionist perspective. The conclusion is that there are strong arguments for both stances, though, at least for long-term behavioral change, the use of green arguments seems to have more drawbacks.

Keywords: animal advocacy, environment, climate change, animal defense, speciesism, animal oppression, strategic communication

Fernández, L. (2019). Using Images of Farmed Animals in Environmental Advocacy: An Antispeciesist, Strategic Visual Communication Proposal

Abstract

This article discusses two main issues: the historical invisibility of the role of animal agriculture in climate change and whether it is useful to include explicit violent images or “moral shock” of farmed animals1 in environmental advocacy campaigns to fight against climate change and environmental devastation. The claim will be explored at two levels: ethical and strategic. According to the current literature available, it will be argued that we have sound arguments to believe that using images of farmed animal suffering (including explicit violent images and moral shocks) is both an ethical and effective approach to reach the end of speciesist oppression and to mitigate climate change.

Keywords: strategic visual communication, advocacy, moral shock, speciesism, climate change, mitigation, farmed animals, vegan diet