“A Vegan Case for Eating Sardines and Anchovies” by Chris Popa, Elizabeth Crewe

Note: This post is written in a personal capacity. The views expressed here are our own and do not represent those of any organisation we're affiliated with. We're grateful to Bob Fischer, Tobias Leenaert, Pablo Moleman, Felix Werdermann, and Kevin Xia for their valuable input and feedback, which does not imply endorsement of the arguments presented. While we've done our best to base this post on careful research and reasoning, we don't claim to be experts on this topic. Our aim is not to assert a final conclusion, but to explore an idea we find worth discussing, and we'd be really grateful for any thoughts that might challenge or deepen our understanding. This post explores whether eating sardines and anchovies could overall result in more good than harm and whether the consumption of these fish can be aligned with the ethics of veganism, despite departing from conventional vegan norms. [...] ---Outline:(01:35) 🥣 Health & Nutrition(01:40) Uncertainty in Nutrition Science(02:50) Limitations of Supplementation(04:05) Potential Health Benefits of Fish(06:42) 🌍 Sustainability(06:47) Resources and Emissions(07:44) Fish Populations(09:31) Ecological Impacts(10:18) 🐟 Animal Ethics(10:21) Moral Weights(12:34) Fishing vs. Crop Deaths(13:21) Fishing vs. Natural Deaths(15:25) Species Survival(16:47) 💡 Societal Implications(16:52) Moral Progress(18:43) Food System Change(19:55) 📢 Effective Advocacy(19:59) Pragmatism vs. Purity(21:11) Diversity vs. Unity(22:14) 👉 ConclusionThe original text contained 29 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: July 8th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/MvXbFB2Hhgq46toye/a-vegan-case-for-eating-sardines-and-anchovies --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO. ---Images from the article:Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.