Animal ethics in business school: a new approach

In the global food industry, animals face conditions that many humans find confronting and emotionally disturbing. Each year, over 81 billion land-based animals are slaughtered for food production mostly in large-scale production systems.

It is common for animal production processes to be screened from sight, such that many consumers remain uncertain about the source of everyday foods, making this a potentially contentious topic for the business school classroom when discussing food ethics and sustainability.

In addition to the problem of animal suffering, the scale of producing animals as food has grave environmental consequences such as biodiversity loss, deforestation and climate change. Tackling such a world challenge is difficult.

Lindsay Hamilton of the University of York Management School has been pioneering a new approach to teaching animal ethics in business schools called “fierce compassion”. The three layers of fierce compassion comprise courageously witnessing, inquiring with empathy and prompting positive action. Each of these steps require emotional labour and indeed courage on the part of teachers and students to face uncomfortable, unpleasant or potentially hurtful images and concepts.

Prior to an experimental new class, students were invited to watch the two-hour documentary, Dominion, which features undercover activist footage of animal agriculture practices. The imagery of this film was considered an important source for reflection as it depicts ‘business as usual’ in animal industries rather than individual cases of animal cruelty.

The film was then discussed alongside complementary research and other materials. At the end of the session, students were encouraged to critically ask questions, reflect on behaviour, and speak up for real change.

For some participants the sadness, anger and shock of Dominion prompted a desire to raise greater awareness among peers, augmented by their exposure to scholarly materials – a unique framing for many who might have previously seen activist material but not scholarly positioned. Others expressed a desire to change their own consumption habits (and challenge those of others). A small proportion of the participants appeared more entrenched in extant viewpoints and norms, although articulating these in reflective ways.

The burning challenge for business schools is to own up to the role they play in creating the problems that society faces through the courses they teach, the theories they espouse, and the values they profess. This new approach could be a first step towards addressing this challenge.