What steps to improve animal welfare do governments need to take to save humanity from a catastrophe that may be far greater than the ongoing COVID disaster?

Governments around the world have long identified an influenza pandemic as one of the greatest risks they face. Enduring a coronavirus pandemic will do virtually nothing to reduce that risk - unless it leads to a step change in the precautions we take against it.

Measures previously seen as proportionate can now be seen, in light of COVID-19, to be far too weak. From banning live-animal markets to incentivising reductions in meat consumption, Jonathan Birch argues that the cost of compensating those affected by a range of (previously seen as unreasonable) measures will be less costly than managing another pandemic.

Meet our speaker

Jonathan Birch (@birchlse) is an Associate Professor in LSE's Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, specializing in  the philosophy of the biological sciences.

How can I watch the film?

Visit the Festival Hub or watch via the YouTube playlist.

More about this event

This event is part of the 'Festival Shorts' series. Festival Shorts are 10-minute talks by LSE experts released during Festival week, available to watch via the LSE Festival Hub.  

The LSE Festival: Shaping the Post-COVID World is running from Monday 1 to Saturday 6 March 2021, with a series of events exploring the direction the world could and should be taking after the crisis and how social science research can shape it. 

Twitter hashtags for this event: #LSEFestival #LSECOVID19