Animal guardianship organization Loomus and the Student Council of the Institute of Educational Sciences of Tallinn University invite you to a conference dedicated to farm animals.

The conference “Perception of farm animals in society vs. the reality” takes place on the 13th of November in the Tallinn University Academic Library (Rävala pst 10, Tallinn) at 10 o’clock. During the conference we will seek answers to such questions: how do we talk about animals, why won’t we change our consumption habits even if we know that change is needed, what role does education play, why is it easier to give up and what is the correlation between food and ethics.

The event host is human and animal rights activist Kadri Sikk, who studies change management in society and works in the field of prevention. In her opinion, it is very important to draw attention to the topic of farm animals. “There is a common opinion in society that food is everyone’s personal matter, but in reality it is not. In the case of farm animals, they are living beings who are exploited, who suffer, whose lives have only one goal – to become food for people. They are not even seen as living things, but as inanimate objects. It shouldn’t be like that.”

There will be four presentations in the first half of the conference. An associate professor of gender studies from Tallinn University will start the day with the presentation “Anthropocentric education system through the eyes of vegan parents”. Laura Sauga-Tilk, a master’s student in semiotics at the University of Tartu, continues with her discussion: “Who or what is an animal? How to talk about animals?”. Eliis Salm, nutritionist and lecturer at Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), examines consumer behavior in her presentation “The impact of animal consumption on the planet and a sustainable food system?”. Grete Arro, an educational and environmental psychologist from Tallinn University, will conclude the first half of the conference with her presentation “Contact with nature, connection with nature and the self-worth of animals – values that don’t make it to the dinner table?”

In the first panel “How slowly are political decisions made”, politicians Hanah Lahe (REF), Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart (KE) and Natalie Mets (SD) discuss how complex changing the food system would be, how to tell the public that food is not a personal choice and why are political decisions made so slowly. Loomus member Maia-Liisa Mürkel will talk to the politicians.

After lunch, everyone will have the opportunity to express their opinions and search for solutions to the question “What should change for animal exploitation to end?” using the World Cafe method. After that, psychologist Emily Rosenberg and doctor Marta Velgan will discuss the topic “What motivates people to go and stay vegan?” with moderator Kadri Sikku. The day ends with the screening of the film “Hogwood: a modern horror story”, followed by a Q&A with the director of the film Tony Wardle, who will talk with Anu Tensing, Loomus project and program manager and animal rights activist.

Event schedule:

10.00 – 10.05 Greetings!
10.05 – 10.45 Kadri Aavik “Anthropocentric education system through the eyes of vegan parents”
10.50 – 11.30 Laura Sauga-Tilk “Who or what is an animal? How to talk about animals?”
11.35 – 12.15 Eliis Salm “The impact of animal consumption on the planet and a sustainable food system?”
12.20 – 13.00 Grete Arro “Contact with nature, connection with nature and the self-worth of animals – values that don’t make it to the dinner table?”
BREAK: 13-13.15
13.15 – 14.00 Panel “How slowly are political decisions made”
Hanah Lahe (REF), Natalie Mets (SD), Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart (KE)
Moderated by: Maia-Liisa Mürkel
BREAK: 14-14.15
14-15.15 Discussion using the World Cafe method: “What should change for animal exploitation to end?”
15.15-16 Emily Rosenberg, Marta Velgan, Kadri Sikk “What motivates people to go and stay vegan?”
The event host is human and animal rights activist Kadri Sikk

18:00 Movie night: HOGWOOD: A MODERN HORROR STORY
Q&A with the film’s director, Tony Wardle. He chats with Anu Tensing