Albert Schweitzer Foundation for Our Contemporaries

The Albert Schweitzer Foundation for Our Contemporaries (ASF) is an animal protection organization focused on reducing the suffering of farmed animals.[1] Its activities include campaigns to change corporate animal welfare policies and spreading information about vegetarianism and veganism.[2]

Organizational History

ASF was founded by attorney Wolfgang Schindler in 2000. It is named for French-German theologian Albert Schweitzer, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his "Reverence for Life" philosophy[3] and practiced vegetarianism.[4] The Foundation's website states that its mission is to relieve as much suffering as possible, and therefore their focus in on helping farmed animals, 60 billion of which are raised and killed each year.[1]

Despite its name, ASF does not make grants like a typical foundation but works as a nonprofit.[5]

Campaigns

ASF's largest program in terms of budget is its corporate outreach program. In 2013 corporate outreach led to 33 corporate policy changes: 26 companies switched to cage-free eggs, 1 stopped selling foie gras, 2 removed eggs from meat alternatives, and 4 added vegan menu items. In addition, four universities switched to cage-free eggs.[5] In a 2012-2013 campaign ASF successfully convinced all of Germany's major grocery store chains to stop selling lobster.[6] In January 2016, along with American animal protection group The Humane League, ASF secured a cage-free pledge from Mondelez International.[7]

According to their website, ASF played a major role in convincing all supermarket chains and the most important cash-and-carry wholesalers in Germany to stop selling eggs from chickens raised in battery cages.[2]

Another ASF campaign is their Pig Mobile Tour, a plant-based diet outreach campaign across Germany. In 2013 the tour made 142 stops throughout Germany and distributed 95,000 leaflets.[5]

ASF also does outreach by printing pro-vegan and animal rights messages on truck canvasses, publishing scientific information related to animal protection, organizing and supporting local groups and protests, lobbying, and reaching out to media.[5]

Animal Charity Evaluators review

ASF has been one of Animal Charity Evaluators' (ACE) Standout Charities since December 2014.[8] ACE designates as Standout Charities those organizations which they do not feel are as strong as their Top Charities, but which excel in at least one way and are exceptionally strong compared to animal charities in general.[9]

In their November 2016 review of ASF, ACE lists the organization's strengths as understanding the value of goal-setting and measuring impact; working with corporations to affect large numbers of animals; and collaborating with other organizations. Their weaknesses include, according to ACE, a limited reach, as most of their work is in Germany.[8]

See also

General

Animal activist organizations

References

  1. 1 2 "About Us". Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Albet Schweitzer Foundation. "Our Campaigns". Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  3. ↑ Schweitzer, Albert (10 December 1953), "Award Ceremony Speech", The Nobel Peace Prize 1952, The Nobel prize
  4. ↑ International Vegetarian Union. "Dr Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965)". Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Animal Charity Evaluators (May 4, 2016). "Albert Schweitzer Foundation Review". Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  6. ↑ CBC News (March 18, 2013). "German supermarkets ban lobster sales". Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  7. ↑ The Humane League (January 14, 2016). "Updated: 2016 Scores its First Anti-Confinement Grand Slams!". Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  8. 1 2 Animal Charity Evaluators (November 2016). "Albert Schweitzer Foundation". Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  9. ↑ Allison Smith (June 9, 2016). "Our Thinking on Standout Organizations". Retrieved November 29, 2016.
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