This post describes my views, suggestions and campaign ideas related to the world-wide public consultation for the Dutch science agenda. Note that the deadline for submission of ideas has passed (May 1, 2015).

Introduction Tweets & Facebook posts on the approach method of #‎AnimalMindedScience Tweets & Facebook posts on key suggestions for #‎AnimalMindedScience First submission (English version): How to make the science agenda and society animal minded? Dutch version of the submission: Hoe kan de wetenschapsagenda en de samenleving het dier indachtig gemaakt worden? Conclusion Further specification in tweets

Introduction

The Dutch government and main science organizations have launched a public consultation on the future of science (Wetenschapsagenda in Dutch; science agenda in English). Until May 1 2015 all people in the Netherlands can submit questions concerning issues that should be addressed by science the coming years. By sharing these questions on Twitter and Facebook submissions can gain momentum when they are favorited/liked/shared. We believe it is important that the Dutch science agenda takes special interest in issues related to animals. For this we started a campaign on Twitter labeled as #‎AnimalMindedScience. The idea is that we want to solicit as much support as possible to emphasize this point. We therefor started a worldwide query for brilliant ideas concerning the Dutch science agenda (which we will translate in Dutch and submit before the deadline of May 1 here). In addition, for existing ideas such as the ones suggested below we’d like to request your support by way of Twitter retweets and/or favorites, and/or by Facebook likes and/or shares. But the very best place you can support submissions like ours is on the official site in English and/or Dutch! .

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Tweets & Facebook posts on the approach method of #‎AnimalMindedScience

URGENT! Brilliant ideas needed to make Dutch science more ‪#‎AnimalMindedScience‬ <May1! Make NL science >> Animal Minded! PLZ vote for #AnimalMindedScience on Twitter or Facebook! Help make NL science more animal minded by RT or FAV sug < May 1! YOU can help make NL science more Animal Minded! How? Go to ‪#‎AnimalMindedScience‬ & Submit idea, OR RT existing one! Search ideas @ “#AnimalMindedScience & SHOULD” on TW / FB & VOTE by RT/FAV! E.g. #AnimalMindedScience SHOULD help make Animal Minded decisions E.g. #AnimalMindedScience SHOULD make animals happy

Tweets & Facebook posts on key suggestions for #‎AnimalMindedScience

#‎AnimalMindedScience‬ should show that lab animal suffering can be reduced substantially! #‎AnimalMindedScience‬ should prevent species from going extinct! #‎AnimalMindedScience‬ should show compassion in world farming! #‎AnimalMindedScience‬ should help feed the world without making animals pay the price! #‎AnimalMindedScience‬ should show that animals have feelings too! #‎AnimalMindedScience‬ should show that an apology is warranted for behaviorism, and its denial of animal feelings! #‎AnimalMindedScience‬ should study animal autonomy, freedom and justice! #‎AnimalMindedScience‬ should refrain from allocating budget to institutions responsible for creating welfare problems in the first place. #‎AnimalMindedScience‬ should reduce population growth! #‎AnimalMindedScience‬ helps people make AnimalMinded decisions. #‎AnimalMindedScience‬ should help people control damaging desires (like >>$$$ and pwr)! #‎AnimalMindedScience‬ should show that what we eat determines who we are! #‎AnimalMindedScience‬ should make veggieburgers taste better than real burgers! And both cheaper and more healthy as well!

First submission (English version): How to make the science agenda and society animal minded?

Sustainability and economics are important themes. The Netherlands is only 41.5k km2 with 17m people and billions of animals. The balance between the interests of people and animals must be restored. Firstly, an animal-minded science-agenda demands a critical redirection of the budget for research involving laboratory animals to substantially reduce suffering. Secondly, it addresses wildlife issues such as species preservation, climate change and welfare in zoos, the exotic pet trade and fisheries. Thirdly, it solves pet problems (e.g. trade, abandonment, breeding, neglect and social isolation). Finally, but not least importantly, it solves production problems of livestock (e.g. breeding, housing, transport, slaughter and consumer demand). The animal-minded science agenda not only studies problems, but actually solves them, both at the perceptual and technological levels. This requires an elevated focus on ethics, psychosocial, epidemiological, big-data and technological research strategies. The current agnosticism regarding animal feelings is still dominant and needs to be counteracted. Similarly, the perceived importance of material hedonism needs to be challenged. Perhaps, science should even enable politics to discourage economic and population growth, and develop technological alternatives to the sacrifice of animals for medical ‘hope’ research, as well as alternatives to the consumption of meat and dairy products. Note: this English version was submitted here, but English was not allowed, so I submitted a Dutch version as well (see below, or here).

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Dutch version of the submission: Hoe kan de wetenschapsagenda en de samenleving het dier indachtig gemaakt worden?

Duurzaamheid en economie zijn belangrijke thema’s. Nederland is slechts 41.5k km2 met 17m mensen en biljoenen dieren. De balans tussen de belangen van mensen en dieren moet hersteld worden. Allereerst, vereist een dier-indachtige wetenschapsagenda een kritische herverdeling van onderzoeksbudget voor proefdieren om het lijden drastisch te verminderen. Ten tweede, komt er aandacht voor wilde dieren, zoals behoud van biodiversiteit, klimaatsverandering en welzijn in dierentuinen, de handel in exoten en visserij. Ten derde, lost het problemen op met gezelschapsdieren (bijv. handel, wegdoen, fokkerij, verwaarlozing en sociale isolatie). Tenslotte, maar niet minst belangrijk, lost het problemen op met de productie van vee (bijv. fok, huisvesting, transport, slacht en (de behoefte aan) consumptie). Een dier-indachtige wetenschapsagenda bestudeert niet slechts de problemen, maar lost deze ook feitelijk op, zowel qua perceptie als technologie. Dit vereist meer focus op ethiek, pychosociale, epidemiologische, big-data en technologische onderzoeksstrategieën. Het huidige agnosticisme m.b.t. de gevoelens van dieren is nog dominant en moet uitgedaagd worden. Misschien moet het onderzoek aan de politiek wel de mogelijkheid verschaffen om de economische – en populatiegroei tegen te gaan, en technologische alternatieven ontwikkelen voor het opofferen van dieren voor medisch ‘hoop’ onderzoek en ook alternatieven voor de consumptie van vlees en zuivelproducten. Note: See English version above or at the Wetenschapsagenda website. Note: this version may be removed from the website of the science agenda, because they don’t allow English submissions. Later, the Dutch version was submitted as a separate question: Hoe kan de wetenschapsagenda en de samenleving het dier indachtig gemaakt worden? (above or here).

Conclusion

Please support these submissions on Twitter by retweet/favorite and on Facebook by liking/sharing. But the very best place of support is at the submissions on the official site in English and/or Dutch! There you can also submit new ideas that need to be included in the science agenda. But if you understand Dutch and live in the Netherlands, you can also submit yourself here.

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Further specification in tweets

I love you now, little puppy
but when you’re grown I won’t
and when I’m grown I’ll be a stone.

Hè, you!
Scientist in your glass bowl
please come out into the real world
where feelings matter!

#AnimalMindedScience:
* replaces self-interested objectivity with objective other-interestedness.
* will reveal that our highest good is neither heaven, nor eternal life or beauty, neither omniscience nor omnipotence.
* shows respect for all soals, all subjects-of-a-life, equally, for justice overrides selfishness.
* shall bring mankind back down to eye-level with the other animals.
* shall support the democratic agenda of protecting the least-well-off, and one vote for all.
* will never never mind, as science has done.
* follows the golden rule: Don’t do to otters what you wouldn’t others have do to you.
* shall not be the slave of public opinion, nor its master. They will co-evolve mankind.
* would never do to society what science has done to animals.
* will transform the clever man (homo sapiens) into the wise man (homo sapiens empaticus).
* does not treat humans as if they were animals, nor animals as if they were humans.
* will never again never mind.
* is to science what man has been to ape in evolution.
* is a matter of keeping balance
* shall support the conservative agenda of preserving what is good about the past.
* shall support the democratic agenda and give animals a vote.
* shall support the liberal agenda of freedom for all.
* supports the Labour agenda of demanding labour rights for animals, e.g. to work for food in a species-specific way.
* shall never treat other animals as just animals.
* was not born out of idealisme, but out of necessity, both moral and physical necessity.
* The more #AnimalMindedScience will be rejected, the more it will be needed and demanded.
* bends what was straight, and straightens what was twisted.
* acknowledges that we belong to the family of soals (subjects-of-a-life).
* treats all soals, ie all subjects-of-a-life, as equals, and not some as more equal than others.
* turns our world upside-down. Linear suppression becomes soal (subject-of-a-life) centralization.
* is for animal welfare what cradle-to-cradle is for the environment.
* says ‘No!’ to more money making
* says ‘Yes!’ to tender loving care.
* blows dust on science, so as to get rid of nasty parasites.

The dark forces ruled society, ignoring the needs of helpless animals…

Foal on back:
I’m on my back
want you to get back
on track
Mind our fate
before it is too late

Owl:
I’m a wise bird of prey
I do as I may
Tell you to mind
And ever be so kind

Giraffe tongue:
I lick.
I like.
My tongue
is strong.
I tell a tale
of human primacy gone stale

Lion:
I’m sexy and I know it
I’m sexy and I’ll show it
Unless you’re a boar, you’ll listen to my roar

In nature power implies the ability to mate and perpetuate life. Powerful ideas like #AnimalMindedScience are sexy.

We belong to the animal kingdom. We shouldn’t rule it.

If we breed like rabbits, crawl the earth like ants, and dig burrows in it like rats, we won’t be the crown of creation, but a problem pest.

@AnimalMinded Digital soal. Interested in everything about animals, including farm & lab animals, wildlife & pets.

Look at me!
I’m the king.
My kingdom comes.