Council for animal ethics meeting attended in Oslo

Today I have attended Council for animal ethics´ meeting in Oslo (at Næringslivets hus). This is one of four meetings this year, two of which are now physical (and two digital, due to an insufficient budget).

Council for animal ethics meeting attended

Today I have attended a meeting of Norway´s Council for animal ethics, at Næringslivets hus in Oslo. Among other things, we discussed the consultative statement we are in the process of writing on climate change and animal ethics, and recent developments in the ethical work that is done in relation to Norway´s Government Pension Fund Global.

Panel discussion chaired at Animal Ethics Conference 2025 on animals´ death

Today I have attended Norway´s Animal Ethics Conference (Dyreetikkonferansen) 2025, which had the theme "Når dyr dør. Perspektiver på livets slutt" (When animals die. Perspectives on the end of life) and was held at Litteraturhuset in Oslo. I chaired the panel discussion which took place at the end of the day. The panel included all the presenters, namely Espen Gamlund (UIB), Elisiv Tolo (Animalia), Helen Øvregaard (Vet-Talk), Steffen Tretvoll (Norsk Vegansamfunn), Jon M. Arnemo (Universitetet i Innlandet), Åsa Maria O. Espmark. More than 150 people were registered for the conference, which is organised by Norway´s Council for animal ethics.

Margrethe Voll Storaas´ ph.d. defence successfully completed; opposition given

The last couple of days I have been in Oslo, in relation to the ph.d. defence of Margrethe Voll Storaas at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, at the occasion of her ph.d. thesis "As Agent and Environment: A Biosemiotic Understanding of the Moving Body within Ecology and Technology through Case Studies in Sport". I acted as first opponent, along with second opponent Kathinka Evers (Uppsala University, Sweden), while Ørnulf Seippel was internal committee member. Margrethe started the day by giving the trial lecture "The ecology of the non-human body in the Anthropocene: Comparing the human and non-human body", on our indication. She completed the ph.d. defence successfully. The day ended on her doctoral dinner at the restaurant Park 29 in downtown Oslo.

Involvement in ph.d. assessment and defense of Margrethe Voll Storaas

Earlier this year I have taken part in the assessment of the ph.d. thesis of Margrethe Voll Storaas for the  Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (specifically their Department of Sport and Social Sciences), along with Ørnulf Seippel and Kathinka Evers. In a couple of weeks I will act as first opponent at her public ph.d. defense, which has been scheduled for October 17th (see announcement).

Programme:

10.15–11.00 Trial lecture on the topic “The ecology of the non-human body in the Anthropocene: Comparing the human and non-human body" 

13.00–16.00 Public defense of the thesis "As Agent and Environment: A Biosemiotic Understanding of the Moving Body within Ecology and Technology through Case Studies in Sport" followed by a discussion 

In addition to in person attendance, it will also be possible to watch the defense live on the YouTube channel of the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences.

Langsikt seminar given

Yesterday I held a public lecture or presentation in the Langsikt seminar at the think tank Langsikt, titled "Hvordan få mest mulig velferd for pengene" (loosely translates as: How to get the most welfare for the money spent), drawing on my article "Wasted GDP in the USA". The seminar took place at Mesh Nationaltheatret in Oslo and was attended by 8 people.

Partaking in 4 events in Stavanger and Oslo next week

I have been scheduled to take place in three more events next week, in addition to Dyreetikkonferansen 2024 (Wednesday November 20, Oslo):

Langsikt-seminar: Hvordan få mest mulig velferd for pengene, med Morten Tønnessen (Oslo, Thursday November 21, 2024) - takes place at 12.00-13.30 at Mech, Nationaltheatret

Academic seminar: Ethics in a time of animal crisis (University of Stavanger, Friday November 22, 2024) - takes place at 10.00-13.00 at University of Stavanger  

Steffens-forelesningen 2024, by Alice Crary: "All justice is animal justice" (University of Stavanger, Thursday November 21, 2024) - takes place at University of Stavanger at 18.00-20.00; I have been asked to introduce her

To speak at Dyreetikkonferansen 2024

I have been scheduled to present at Dyreetikkonferansen 2024 (the Norwegian animal ethics conference 2024), which takes place at Litteraturhuset, Oslo, on Wednesday November 20th, with the theme "Er du bevisst dyrs bevissthet?" (Are you conscious of animals´ consciousness?). The title of my talk is "Hvordan er det å være et dyr?" (What is it like to be an animal?).

More info (in Norwegian) on the website of Norway´s Council for animal ethics.

Council of animal ethics meeting attended

Yesterday I attended the meeting of Norway´s Council for animal ethics, which was held at Thon Hotel Opera in Oslo. Among other things, I gave a status report on our consultative statement on the Norwegian pension fund global´s investments in food production and similar, and on two international declarations on animal consciousness (Cambridge and New York).

Council of animal ethics meeting attended; encountering GPFG Council on ethics representatives

Yesterday I attended a meeting of Norway´s Council for animal ethics, the first this year, at Thon Hotel Opera in Oslo. Among other things, we were visited by representatives of the Council on ethics of Norway´s Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG).

Council for animal ethics meeting attended

Today I have attended the first meeting of the newly appointed Council for animal ethics (in Norway), at Thon hotel Opera in Oslo. I represent animal protection NGOs in the council.

Scheduled to speak on love and knowledge at the Norwegian Animal Ethics Conference 2023, December 12th

The program for Dyreetikkonferansen 2023, the Norwegian Animal Ethics Conference 2023, has now been released. The theme is "Er kjærlighet nok? Når omsorgen for dyr går galt" (literally: Is love enough? When care for animals goes wrong). The event is held at Litteraturhuset in Oslo on December 12th.

I am scheduled to speak about the topic "Kjærlighet og kunnskap – henger det sammen?" (Love and knowledge - is there any connection?), and take part in the panel discussion, with the theme "Hvordan best forebygge vanskjøtsel og mishandling av dyr" (How best to prevent neglect and mistreatment of animals).

In Oslo for Council for animal ethics meeting

Today I have attended the meeting of Norway´s Council for animal ethics, in Oslo, at Thon hotel Opera.

Council for animal ethics meeting attended

Yesterday I attended the second meeting this fall of Norway´s Council for animal ethics, at Thon hotel Opera in Oslo. 

Dyreetikkonferansen 2022 held; panel chaired; recordings available online

Wednesday this week I attended Dyreetikkonferansen 2022 in Oslo (at Litteraturhuset), which had the theme "Noen dyr er likere enn andre. Hvorfor behandler vi dyr forskjellig?". I have been in the organizing committee. I also chaired the panel discussion, which lasted for 2 hours. Some 100 people attended physically while at least 70 attended online. 

The event was streamed. The recordings are available at YouTube.

The Norwegian Animal Ethics conference 2022 to take place in Oslo November 16th; links

Dyreetikkonferansen 2022, The annual Norwegian Animal Ethics conference, will take place November 16th in Oslo, with the theme "Noen dyr er likere enn andre. Hvorfor behandler vi dyr forskjellig?" (Some animals are more equal than others. Why do we treat animals differently?). I will be chairing the panel discussion, and take part in the organizing committee.

More info: 

Conference homepage

Facebook event page

Fourth day of staff trip

Today, on the fourth day of the department´s staff trip, we had internal program before lunch, and then flew home to Stavanger.

In Oslo

It has been quite a day. I flew for the first time in a year. The flight (Stavanger > Oslo) was three-four hours late. I had a meeting with an editor at Universitetsforlaget (Scandinavian University Press) to discuss my book project Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement, and then met with a scholar with which I have common research interests. Also, it is election day in Norway.

Norwegian animal ethics conference 2020 held

Yesterday, from Oslo, I was part of arranging the 2020 Norwegian animal ethics conference (Dyreetikkonferansen), with the theme "Velferd i isolasjonens tid" (Welfare in the time of isolation). The conference was this year held digitally, in Zoom. I was present in the "studio" at the Norwegian Veterinary Institute from where the conference was streamed and organized. Some 180 people followed the seminar online.

Meeting in Council for animal ethics

Today I attended the meeting of the Council for animal ethics, in situ at Norwegian Veterinary Institute in Oslo.