Category Archives: Happiness

How can we feed the world?

How can we feed the world? That is no doubt a serious question. In this post I show why this question is also ambiguous in a way that may be blocking a sustainable solution. The problem The world population is … Continue reading

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Pig animation – Improved, branched chain design as proper enrichment for pigs

Pig animation: Rearing pigs in barren conditions reduces their welfare. Enrichment of pig pens is needed to allow the performance of species-specific natural behaviour like rooting. A metal chain provides rather limited enrichment, but when presented in an optimized way, … Continue reading

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How would I spend 10 billion to improve the Netherlands? I’d burn it.

How would I spend 10 billion € to improve the Netherlands? NRC newspaper asked readers to write a short answer to this question. This is my answer: Seven opinionators already gave their answer (NRC 16 aug, 2017). Each had a … Continue reading

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Future of intensive livestock farming: R.I.P?

Debate At the moment the future of intensive livestock farming is intensively debated in the Netherlands. The province of Noord-Brabant may be the first to actually limit the number of farm animals. The Dutch meat inspection (NVWA) is heavily criticized for … Continue reading

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Comparing overall welfare across species and conditions

An intellectual challenge This post introduces an intellectual challenge. It formulates a problem, without giving any anwers. It is the kind of problem I like to wrestle with. Welfare thermometer While many aspects of animal welfare can be measured, it … Continue reading

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Horror slaughterhouse to be memorial centre of compassion?

Indignation about animal cruelty Widespread indignation about animal cruelty in a large slaughterhouse in the Belgium town of Tielt is calling for direct action based on arousal and compassion. Undercover footage taken by an animal-rights organisation, called Animal Rights, shows a … Continue reading

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Happiness: Fact or fiction – Good or bad?

Happiness Today is the UN’s International Day of Happiness. Skandinavian countries, Switserland, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands are among the happiest countries in the world. Over the past year, the large majority (88%) of Dutch people were happy, i.e. they … Continue reading

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