Beyond anthropocentrism in agricultural and resource economics

Romain Espinosa () and Nicolas Treich
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Romain Espinosa: CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AgroParisTech - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - Université Paris-Saclay - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

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Abstract: We argue that it is both possible and timely to relax the assumption of anthropocentrism in agricultural and resource economics. We advocate for the incorporation of sentientist principles by including the welfare of sentient animals within the social welfare function. To exemplify this non‐anthropocentric stance, we build on our recent works that incorporate the intrinsic value of farmed animals into food production and consumption. By recognising the externalities affecting animals, we justify the implementation of specific policies, such as a meat tax, which redistributes welfare from consumers and producers to farmed animals. Furthermore, we delve into the quantitative assessment of animal welfare and demonstrate its application to food policy, revealing the substantial economic and welfare impacts at stake. Expanding on our earlier model, we also emphasize the importance of introducing a ‘sentience premium' within species conservation policies. This additional consideration ensures that the conservation efforts appropriately account for the intrinsic value of sentient beings living in the wild.

Keywords: Agricultural economics; Animal welfare; Anthropocentrism; Biodiversity; Resource economics; Sentience; Social welfare function (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-03-18
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04645345v1
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Published in Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 2024, 68 (3), pp.541-566. ⟨10.1111/1467-8489.12560⟩

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Journal Article: Beyond anthropocentrism in agricultural and resource economics (2024)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04645345

DOI: 10.1111/1467-8489.12560

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