Programme
WORKSHOP 1
From preaching to practice: tools for facilitating transdisciplinary collaboration
Complex societal challenges like transforming agricultural production and changing established systems can only be tackled by real collaboration between different disciplines and partners outside academia.
This workshop is aimed at the practical implementation of transdisciplinary collaboration in multi-actor research consortia. Participants will be introduced to and engage in two exercises that facilitate real collaboration, which they can apply to their own teams. There will also be room for participants to share their ideas of or experiences with facilitation of transdisciplinary processes.
Organizer and presenter: Mona Giersberg (Utrecht University)
WORKSHOP 2
Do Cells Dream of Food Futures? Ethical Entanglements of Cellular Agriculture
Having Cellular Agriculture (cultured meats and precision fermentation dairy) as the food innovation in question, we invite discussion on the role of this set of emerging technologies in responding to contemporary challenges, which construct perceptions and hopeful imaginations toward the future. When optimized, these technologies hold great promise for sustainable consumption, reduce pressure on animal farming, and thereby bring not only sustainability benefits but also benefit animal welfare. In our workshop, we welcome everyone interested in critical reflection on the ethical entanglements of Cellular Agriculture from the perspective of imagination, research, production, and consumption.
Chair and facilitator: Dr. Zoë Robaey (Wageningen University & Research)
Presenters:
- Clemens Driessen (Wageningen University & Research)
- Mariana Hase Ueta & Sarah Kunze (Wageningen University & Research)
- Renske Bouma (Wageningen University & Research)
- Carla Molento (Federal University of Paraná, Brazil)
- Madhura Rao (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
- Laurens Landeweerd, Martina Baumann, & Denise van Baalen (Radboud Universiteit)
WORKSHOP 3
Ethics in Policy Advice
Constantly changing environmental conditions, changes in society or the development of new technologies raise the critical questions about whether and how these developments should and must be regulated at the political level. This workshop will focus on the types of knowledge and skills that ethicists need in policy advice and how these can be taught in academic programmes. It also explicitly addresses the question of what role EurSafe can play as a society dealing with the key ethical challenges of the coming decades (land use change, biodiversity loss, climate change, etc.). The workshop is aimed at those interested in the challenges of providing policy-oriented ethics advice and applied ethics education.
Organisers:
- Andreas Bachmann (Federal Office for the Environment, CH)
- Simon Meisch (IZEW, University of Tuebingen) (via Zoom)
- Ariane Willemsen (Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology ECNH)
WORKSHOP 4
The impact of climate change on animal welfare
Climate change has a notable impact on both domesticated and wild animals, as increasing temperatures and extreme weather events degrade their welfare. Issues such as heat stress, storms, and floods are becoming more prevalent. Rapid occurrences of heavy rainfall, floods, and prolonged droughts are too abrupt for animals to adapt to effectively. Problems like the inability to migrate, a lack of sufficient food, and water scarcity are harming animal welfare. Additionally, climate mitigation efforts can negatively affect animal welfare. In two reports the Council of Animal Welfare emphasizes the need for an integrated approach, whereby it is necessary to continually determine the implications of a proposed intervention for animal welfare. A shared theme in both reports is the intersection of ethics and law. In this workshop we will address questions such as Who is responsible for the implications of climate change for animal welfare? How does this responsibility translate into jurisdiction? Can ethical theory provide guidelines for policy trade-offs regarding animal welfare impacts related to climate change?
Workshop moderator: Jan Staman
Speakers: Daan Disco, Arnold van Huis and Jacques van Alphen
Commentator: Raymond Anthony
WORKSHOP 5
Examining the need for RRII and Ethics by Design Thinking in Agricultural and Food Research
Millar, K.
WORKSHOP 6
Explore some ethical frontiers: Workshop on 'Surplus Animals'
In different contexts of animal use we come across the notion of 'surplus animals', such as animal shelters, zoos, farms, breeding facilities, and laboratories. In this workshop, we use a number of thought experiments involving surplus animals combined with tools to explore different stakeholders’ perspectives in order to discuss challenges and solutions in different contexts.
Organizers:
- Christian Rodriguez, PhD student at the Institute for Biomedical Ethics (IBMB), University of Basel, Switzerland
- Edwin Louis-Maerten, PhD student at the IBMB (and veterinarian)
- David Shaw, Senior Researcher at IBMB and Associate Professor at Maastricht University, Netherlands
- Kirsten Persson, Postdoctoral researcher at the IBMB and the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Germany
WORKSHOP 7
The Ethics of Citizen Science in Agricultural and Food Research
Food and agricultural sciences increasingly make use of citizen science (CS). There are a number of envisaged benefits, e.g.: it allows collection of larger quantities of data than would be possible using only professionals, it may capture local knowledge, and it might also engage members of the public in the scientific endeavor, contributing to democratization of science and having educational benefits. At the same time, there are also challenges and some of these have ethical repercussions. This workshop will tackle those issues with input from various fields. Three presenters (René van der Wal, Sarah West and Sabine Wildevuur) will provide insights from their respective fields, followed by a round-table discussion with contributions from the speakers and the audience.
Organisers: and facilitator(s):
- Per Sandin and Patrik Baard (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences)
Speaker(s):
- René van der Wal (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences)
- Sarah West (University of York)
WORKSHOP 8
Animal breeding to improve future food systems. Effective? Understood? Acceptable?
Since domestication, humans have adapted animal populations (‘animal breeding’) to meet their food demands. This process has been very successful, but not without problems. Problems were tackled with breeding solutions and by adapting the husbandry environment.
There is (not very articulated) societal concern on adapting animal populations through breeding. Not only because of the mentioned associated problems, but also from more philosophical and intuitive points of view.
In the workshop, we will explore and discuss how and to what extent breeding activities can contribute to future food systems. And explore what concerns and societal limitations have to be taken into account. Marco Bink (Team lead Genetics & Genomics at Hendrix Genetics) will kick off. Also, some short pitches from running breeding studies are welcomed.
The session is predominantly interactive.
Organisers and facilitator(s):
Speaker(s):
SESSION 1.1
Veterinary & animal ethics - focus on ethical theory
- Borgdorf, L.: Challenging Burger Veganism with an Argument from Virtue Ethics (11:30-12:00)
- Eckl, K.: What can dignity do for animals? (12:00-12:30)
SESSION 1.2
More-than-human food systems Session
- Efstathiou, S.: The eat-er and the fed-er: feeling, feeding and livestock in more-than-animal worlds (11:30-12:00)
- Lis, N.A.: Obscured Disruptions of Industrial Poultry Sheds (12:00-12:30)
SESSION 1.3
Environmental ethics
- Lam, M.E.: An ethical agenda for the oceans and planet (11:30-12:00)
- Hagen, K.: Synthetic biology, genetic engineering in the wild, and biological diversity (12:00-12:30)
SESSION 1.4
Novel technologies in food production - gene technology
- Carson, S.G.: Is it unethical not to use genome editing? On how (not) to promote citizen engagement for responsible technology development (11:30-12:00)
- Wathne, H.: Scoping genome editing in the Norwegian public (12:00-12:30)
SESSION 2.1
Veterinary & animal ethics - focus on ethical theory
- Gjerris, M.: Løgstrup and anymals – time for a gestalt shift? (15:30-16:00)
- Van Den Brandeler, E.L.: Speciesist Ignorance: Institutional Epistemic Barriers to Anti-Speciesist Knowledge (16:00-16:30)
- Pohjolainen, P.: Non-human Animals in Corporate Social Responsibility? Evidence from the Nordic Countries (16:30-17:00)
SESSION 2.2
Veterinary & animal ethics - novel technologies & responsibilities
- Giersberg, M.F.: Animal-centred AI: on the need of value-sensitive innovation in the context of animal production (15:30-16:00)
- Ryan, M.: Animal pain as a matter of technology: Ethical aspects of using automated pain detection for farmed animals (16:00-16:30)
- Aerts, S.: Ethical responsibilities of veterinarians in the context of genetic testing for degenerative myelopathy in dogs (16:30-17:00)
SESSION 2.3
Environmental ethics
- Gamborg, C.: Rewilding – does changing nature require changing humans (view of) nature? (15:30-16:00)
- Vermeulen, L.: Re-evaluating feral cat management strategies in Australia (16:00-16:30)
- Glas, J.J.: Working with nature, but how? Moving beyond agroecology and ecomodernism in pest management (16:30-17:00)
SESSION 2.4
Veterinary & animal ethics -gene technology in animals
- Winther, H.: Change to conserve? Genome editing threatened species (15:30-16:00)
- Bruce, D.M.: What should we breed cattle for? Results of public engagement with a Democs card game (16:00-16:30)
- Borgdorf, L.: Attitudes towards Genome Editing in Farmed Animals: An Interview Study (16:30-17:00)
17:15-18:15 PARALLEL SESSION 3 (The authors mentioned in the programme are the presenting authors)
SESSION 3.1
Veterinary & animal ethics - animal welfare law
- Rodriguez Perez, C.: Simply the best? How the Ranking Argument Prevents Improvements in Animal Welfare Law in the EU (17:15-17:45)
- Mikkelsen, R.: Closing the Gap (2): A Decision-Making Council for Animal Welfare (17:45-18:15)
SESSION 3.2
Facilitation of ethical reflection
- Giersberg, M.F.: Next level collaboration: towards responsible innovation for behavioural phenotyping in farm animals (17:15-17:45)
- Myhr, A.I.: The use of Ethics Cards for enhancing reflexivity: Case study detection of microplastics in salmon (17:45-18:15)
SESSION 3.3
Innovations in farming & food production - improvements in the food chain
- Inza-Bartolomé, A.: Exploring social impacts of food surplus redistribution (17:15-17:45)
- MacIeira, A.: Food Safety and Traceability in Local Farming of fruits and vegetables in the North of Portugal (17:45-18:15)
08:30-09:00 Registration
SESSION 4.1
Veterinary & animal ethics - animal welfare
- Harfeld, J.L.: The history of animal welfare and its connection to ethics (10:30-11:00)
- Bjørkhaug, H.: Good animal welfare in a sustainable food system (11:00-11:30)
- Van Der Aa, A.S.: The challenge of nature-inclusive farming systems - a collection of potential dilemma’s for veterinarians (11:30-12:00)
SESSION 4.2
Veterinary & animal ethics - veterinary professional ethics
- Deininger, K.: Mission Veterinary Medicine: Learning from methodological aspects in Just War Theory (10:30-11:00)
- Bubeck, M.J.: Sociologizing Veterinary Ethics: An Exploration of Collective Identity (11:00-11:30)
- Karg, J.: The hidden skill? Dealing with disgust in veterinary medicine (11:30-12:00)
SESSION 4.3
Global perspectives on environmental & food ethics
- Ota, K.: Trends and Developments in Asia Pacific Food Ethics: Perspectives from APSAFE2020 and 2023 (10:30-11:00)
- Sellmann, J.: Asia Pacific Environmental Food Ethics for a Sustainable Future (11:00-11:30)
- Loonstra, T.I.: Applying Eurocentric Food Ethics to non-Western Contexts: Challenges and Resolutions (11:30-12:00)
SESSION 4.3
Innovations in farming & food production - farming & climate justice
- Beekman, V.: Moral landscape zoning solves the Dutch natural history drama (10:30-11:00)
- Escajedo San-Epifanio, L.: Equitable Access to Plant Genetic Resources and Benefit Sharing: A Comparison of Existing Systems (11:00-11:30)
- Buddle, E.A.: Women’s (hidden) contribution to the sustainability of modern Australian farming businesses (11:30-12:00)
SESSION 4.4
The social epistemology of engineered agricultural ecosystems
Our panel critically discusses how biotechnological interventions reshape agro-ecological relationships. Using different case studies, we ask and attempt to provide some provisional answers to the questions: How does the deliberate modification of agricultural products and processes change the nature of agricultural ecologies, goals, designs, and new uses of agricultural innovations? and, What values, concepts and assumptions frame evaluation of the possible social impacts of using new technologies for agriculture?
- Kendig, C. and Thompson, P.B.: Introduction to the social epistemology of engineered agricultural ecologies
- Kendig, C.: Can biotech solve the nitrogen dilemma? Reengineering soil ecologies and reconceptualizing soil health
- Thompson, P.B.: A Risk-Based Agricultural Biotechnology Ethics in the Era of Gene Editing: What is New and What Is Not?
- Sandin, P.: Treading Lightly, Agriculture, and Focality
PANEL 5.1
Biomimicry and regenerative design, which road to sustainable technologies?
The panel aims to raise a number of important questions about biomimicry and its sustainability promises. Under what conditions can nature provide a model for innovative and sustainable technologies? Should all future technologies become regenerative if they aim to be sustainable, or how can we differently envision the future of sustainable technologies? How can sustainable technologies contribute to make food systems more resilient and even regenerative in the context of ecological decline? There is a need for new conceptual frameworks to connect technology and nature in order to design more ecologically responsive frameworks beyond easy techno-fixes.
Moderator: Vincent Blok
Pannelists:
- Alessio Gerola (WUR)
- Bart Gremmen (WUR)
- Marco Tamborini (TU Darmstadt)
PANEL 5.2
Humans, Data, and Trust: Fundamental reflections on AI in Agri-Food
Digital technologies, particularly AI, are transforming the agri-food sector but also bring ethical, legal, and social challenges. While academia, governance, and industry advocate for responsible, human-centric, and trustworthy AI in the food system, what does human-centric truly mean? How does it consider nature and the environment? Why do many distrust AI—could it be linked to broad power imbalances? These fundamental reflections are crucial because how we define these basic concepts already determines what AI ethics and governance can be built on. This panel presents three research projects constituting three such fundamental reflections: 1) exploring the nature of data and AI technologies, 2) unraveling trustworthiness as a process of power dynamics, and 3) questioning the anthropological assumptions behind human-centered AI.
Presenters:
- Luuk Stellinga (Wageningen University & Research)
- Roel Veraart (Wageningen University & Research)
- Hao Wang (Wageningen University & Research)
PANEL 5.3
Envisioning the place of livestock in a human world
How do animals fit into our vision of work? How can we make on-farm welfare transparent for consumers? And how do work communicate together with livestock farmers to improve farm animal welfare?
In this panel discussion we’ll welcome Marjolein de Rooij, author of the book 'How many vacation days does a pig have?' and founder of the Animal Labour Union, Dr. Lisanne Stadig, senior policy advisor at the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals, and Dr. Jessica Stokes, Royal Agricultural University, whose work focuses on collaboration between farmers and researchers to improve animal welfare. We’ll have an interactive discussion on the place we humans envision for animals in work, the place of information for consumers, and how to involve the chain from farm to fork in welfare improvements.
SESSION 6.1
Veterinary & animal ethics - human-animal relationships
- Kainberger, T. : The shame of being human: On the critical use of shame in human-animal relations (14:15-14:45)
- Kisora, Y.: What Tbilisi street dogs and their human patrons can teach us about animal agency and multispecies care (14:45-15:15)
- Rooijakkers, M.: Implementing animal care ethics through the arts of Visual Thinking Strategies (15:15-15:45)
- Deelen, E.: Fur-ever comfort: the role of normative professionalism in animal hospice and palliative care (15:45-16:15)
SESSION 6.2
Veterinary & animal ethics - animal experimentation
- Rademaker, C.J.: Handle with care: The relational matrix of veterinary medicine and animal experimentation (14:15-14:45)
- Persson, K.: QALY as a supporting factor for animal model selection in animal research (14:45-15:15)
- Louis-Maerten, E.: Independent review of animal experimentation: who should do what and when? (15:15-15:45)
- Janssens, M.R.E.: Why all healthy laboratory animals should be rehomed (15:45-16:15)
SESSION 6.3
Innovations in farming & food production: sustainable diets & consumption
- Kaiser, M.: Should there be an Intergovernmental Panel on Food Security and Sustainability? (14:15-14:45)
- Strøm-Andersen, N.: Sustainable diets: Examining policies shaping the growth of organic food in the Nordic context (14:45-15:15)
- Sandøe, P.: Can organic food production develop to deal with both price sensitivity and climate concerns? (15:15-15:45)
- Kortetmäki, T.: The real(izable) price of climate-smart and healthy diets: a capacity-sensitive approach (15:45-16:15)
SESSION 6.4
Novel technologies in food production - focus on policy session
- Sodano, V.: Understanding the politics of the European Union food nanotechnology regulatory choices (14:15-14:45)
- Wallimann-Helmer, I.: Extending Biomedical Principlism and the Ethical Matrix: Market Farming, Water Scarcity and Climate Change (14:45-15:15)
- Myskja, B.K.: Seaweed innovation – the role of missions-oriented policy (15:15-15:45)
- Innocenti, M.: Ethics of IoT Devices Aestheticisation in Beekeeping (15:45-16:15)
SESSION 6.5
Teaching ethics
- Bjørnerud, E.: Teaching protein futures – a cross-disciplinary approach (14:15-14:45)
- Liao, C.: Understanding food issues in socioscientific argumentation: A case study of primary science class (14:45-15:15)
- Du Jardin, P.: From engineering to bioengineering: towards an ethical turning point (15:15-15:45)
- Dürnberger, C.: Before studying veterinary medicine. A discussion of biographical aspects of veterinary students (15:45-16:15)
SESSION 7.1
Farm animal welfare & social sciences
- Smid, A.-M.: Breakfast on the Farm: farm tour impacts on public perceptions of dairy cow welfare & sustainability (11:00-11:30)
- Ventura, B.A.: Breakfast on the Farm: dairy farmer experiences in delivering tours to members of the public (11:30-12:00)
- Anthony, R.: US Public attitudes on farm animal welfare during a disease outbreak and pandemic preparedness (12:00-12:30)
SESSION 7.2
Veterinary & animal ethics - veterinary professional
- Baysal, Y.B.: Moral distress measurement in animal care workers: a systematic review (11:00-11:30)
- Olsson, I.A.S.: Between the beast and the boss: Work psychology challenges for animal health and welfare personnel (11:30-12:00)
- Linder, E.: Live and let die – the doing and allowing harm distinction and the veterinarian’s integrity (12:00-12:30)
SESSION 7.3
Environmental ethics Session
- Kallhoff, A.: Five fallacies in addressing the future in environmental studies (11:00-11:30)
- Robaey, Z.H.: Bioprospecting microbial biodiversity for sustainable futures: an ethics of exploitation? (11:30-12:00)
- Kräuchi, S.O.P.: Prioritizing climate adaptation limits and trade-offs (12:00-12:30)
SESSION 7.4
Novel technologies in food production - alternative proteins
- Helliwell, R.: Cultured meat and responsible research when the future is an illusion for financial speculation (11:00-11:30)
- Hisano, S.: Ethics and Aesthetics of Alternative Meat in Japan (11:30-12:00)
- Hirnet, J.: Why do people choose to eat meat? – Changing views on meat replacement (12:00-12:30)
- Escajedo San-Epifanio, L.: Genome editing in Plants and EU provisions for coexistence with organic farming
- Kortetmäki, T.: Why local plant proteins fail to take off?
- Springinklee, D.: Critical Evaluation-Methods of Chatbot Output Accuracy in Animal Ethics
- Escajedo San-Epifanio, L.: Seed sovereignty and farmer-managed seed systems in the EU: endangered?
