Strategies for Ethical and
Environmental Development
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SEED is a nonprofit organization that recognizes the entanglement of human and non-human life, working to advance justice for
animals, nature, and communities.
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Our primary programs focus on facilitating strategic litigation to enforce federal environmental statutes, like the Clean Water Act, against large factory farms, as well as undercover investigations into animal facilities.
In the future,
we envision
We are on a mission
That governments recognize the interconnectedness of humans and nature and our public policies work to protect animals, the environment, and all communities.
To actively create that future by promoting justice that includes more than human subjects. We strive to bring together social, animal, and environmental movements and prioritize solutions focused on the most systemically oppressed.
The lives of
people, animals, and nature
are deeply connected.
We all need water to live. Help us protect freshwater resources across the United States.
Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals Media
Priorities
Environmental justice: We prioritize nature-based solutions with the potential to protect the human and non-human communities most affected by environmental degradation and the climate crisis. Factory farming is a leading cause of pollution, deforestation, and habitat destruction globally. Factory farm runoff releases nitrates, ammonia, and phosphorus into soil, ground, and surface waters, poisoning drinking water for millions of people in the US alone. The environmental and climate impacts of factory farming are exponentially increasing, making systemic change more critical than ever.
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Animal liberation: SEED conducts undercover investigations to raise awareness of the plight of animals slaughtered for food. Raised in unsanitary conditions on factory farms, these gentle, sentient beings experience unimaginable cruelty and neglect during their short lives. Conventional industrial meat and dairy production is inefficient, unethical, and perpetuates world hunger.
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Multi-species justice: We work to expand the notion of justice to include more than humans and strive to achieve the most equitable outcomes for both human and non-human communities. We seek to establish the inalienable rights of nature and animals as beneficiaries of legal protection, and challenge the notion that they are property to be exploited for profit. SEED advocates for a shift away from these modern legal frameworks and towards a recognition that nature and animals have an inherent right to exist and flourish for their own sake. We also strive to raise awareness of the systemic oppression inherent in industrial animal agriculture and other commercial industries, and we work to support farm and slaughterhouse workers in our advocacy as much as possible.
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Methods
We prioritize systemic change. As a multi-issue organization, we seek to work in cooperation through coalitions and partnerships wherever possible. We take a holistic approach to our programs, which combine a wide variety of tactics, including:
+ research and publications
+ investigations
+ public awareness and education
+ policy and legal advocacy
+ community-based projects
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