A guest essay by Dr. Pim Martens, founder of the “think and do tank” AnimalWise.
‘Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That’s the
problem.’
—A. A. Milne
"More respect for animals and nature is key to a sustainable
society.”
—Pim Martens
i'm pleased to post this guest essay by Prof. Dr. Pim Martens, Professor of 'Sustainable Development' at Maastricht University (Netherlands) and Senior Fellow in the Ethics of the Anthropocene Program at the Free University, Amsterdam, about his new book In Sustanimalism: A sustainable perspective on the relationship between human and non-human animals, available for free at Global Academy Press. Pim is founder of AnimalWise, where knowledge and science meet ethics and compassion—a “think and do tank” integrating scientific knowledge and animal advocacy—to bring about sustainable change in our relationship with animals.
If we look at the many sustainability indicators that have been
developed over the years, it is striking to see that animal
well-being hardly plays a role. Biodiversity and ecosystems
indicators put more emphasis on the number and variety of different
species than their well-being. Assuming that the words of Gandhi
make sense, can we then conclude that the concept of sustainability
has nothing to do with civilization? Or is it that animal well-being
is a blind spot in the sustainability debate?
Of course our interaction with
the environment, other people and
other animals is part of our civilization. The reason that 'animals
' and 'sustainability' are not often mentioned together in one
sentence is likely to be found in the fact that the sustainability
debate has been hijacked in recent years by industry and
governments; their view regarding sustainable development has
significantly been subordinate to the dogma of economic growth with
little regard for animal welfare. How short-sighted this is has been
illustrated by the various outbreaks of animal diseases in intensive
farming and the development of antibiotic resistance of many
pathogens, in large part because our farmed animals are given too
many antibiotics. These are just some examples, but it is
increasingly clear that our own well-being is closely connected with
the welfare of the animals with whom we live.
Consider
pets, for example. Research shows that people with a pet
are in general healthier than non- pet owners. Pets also increase
the capacity for empathy
and social contacts among children (which
are useful characteristics for a healthy and happy life).
Furthermore, people who are heavily involved in animal welfare
appear to have more compassion for the problems of people. Of
course, this supposes good care for the domesticated animals.
Keeping animals just because it’s (temporary) fun, useful, or
convenient for us, of course, is not always the most sustainable
course of action. We all know stories of neglected pets and there is
also a relationship between
domestic violence and animal cruelty.
Some more examples include, we are happy for animals in the zoo to
have large enclosures, but if we have bought a ticket we do want to
be able to see them and many people like to eat meat, but prefer not
to be confronted with pictures of battery cages. We are vegetarian
ourselves, but still have a large dog who eats meat. We live in
glasshouses.
Although we are at the forefront of animal welfare in Europe and
America, there is still much to be gained. But here, too, the
situation is often far from ideal. As far as I am concerned,
sustainability revolves around how committed people are to the world
in which they live. Animals are often ignored in this discussion.
It's time to change this. However, ‘human-animal’ research in the
context of sustainable development is still in its infancy, and it
does not provide us with all the answers. Still it is an outstanding
sustainability issue that deserves fullest
attention from a transdisciplinary perspective. It will
also provide the necessary nonhuman elements to the sustainability
discussion, and will provide a platform for the public debate.
Scientists should be more outspoken when we see that our
relationships with our natural environments and the animals within
has changed dramatically, causing many undesirable effects as well.
For example, more and more animals are kept closely together in
unsanitary or overly hygienic (antibiotics, etc.) conditions to
satisfy the rising demand for animal protein of densely populated
megacities. The need for space and raw materials perpetuates the
encroachment on animal habitats such as rainforests, which, in turn,
brings more humans in contact with more exotic animal species. Add
to that frequent international travel—both human and animal—and its
excellent conditions for spreading zoonotic diseases such as
COVID-19. Scientists are obliged to take more
responsibility, especially at times when many signals in nature and
society are red.
In Sustanimalism: A sustainable perspective on the relationship
between human and non-human animals, I study the
sustainability of our relationship with other animals. By looking at
animals, you can put the sustainability debate on the map in an
engaging way. Animal welfare should therefore be central in
sustainability debates: what we term ‘sustanimalism’ (in Dutch, the
combination of ‘dieren’ (animals), and ‘duurzaamheid’
(sustainability) leads to the neologism ‘dierzaamheid’). With this
in mind, it is also practical and easy to make a contribution to a
sustainable society. Acting animal-friendly, for example, by taking
good care of your animals and eating less meat, is not only
beneficial to your health, but also to a better and more civilized
world. I hope to encourage people to think about our interaction
with the animals that surround us.
What is sustainable and what is not, is not a black and white story,
but, by the end of the day, the solution is greater respect for
animals and nature: moving away from industrial livestock farming,
deforestation, wet markets, and other situations in which nonhumans
are abused. My own contribution to science, together with many
international scientists, is studying the complexity and
interactions between human, animals and nature. I hope this book
provides a fruitful contribution to this discussion.