How would citizens of the future, for instance in 50 years from now, judge moral education efforts? What would they say about the way we are currently educating children and youth, and about our priorities in character, moral, and/or citizenship education? Although it is impossible to predict it, I imagine that one of the main criticisms will be that we are doing too little to improve the way we humans treat other animals.
There are many reasons why a much better treatment of animals should be a priority in the educational systems around the globe. First, and foremost, because we know that animals can suffer and are suffering by the millions. The current evidence is clear that at least fish, birds, and mammals have all that is required to feel pain. And millions, especially in the food industry, are living and dying in extreme confinement, and in stressing and painful conditions.
In addition to their direct suffering, better treatment of animals should be a priority because of the consequences that our current way of treating them could have on us, humans. For instance, the extreme confinement of animals in the food industry has led to the massive use of antibiotics, even from birth, creating a high risk of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which could lead to a new pandemic, comparable to or worse than COVID-19. Also, the preference of animals, over vegetables, for food makes it almost impossible to feed the entire global population because producing animal-based food is much less efficient than vegetable-based food. Additionally, the massive use of cows for food is one of the greatest contributions to greenhouse gases and climate change.
Finally, promoting greater empathy towards other animals could transfer into more empathy for humans, which could contribute to improving interpersonal relations and preventing harmful behaviors such as bullying, discrimination, and violence. In the end, this shift will contribute to the purpose of educating better human beings (the main goal of character education), not only by improving the way we relate among each other, but also with the other sentient beings of the world.
Citizens of the future will know that, by the year 2022, we had enough scientific evidence showing us the massive suffering of animals—and the large negative consequences to humans—due to our current treatment of animals, but most decided to look the other way. However, we could do differently if we act now to promote educational programs that teach children to care more about other animals and to act accordingly.
I am not claiming that we should persuade all children to become vegans or to boycott zoos or animal research. Instead, I consider that education should help prepare children and youth to make responsible decisions regarding our relation with the rest of the animal world. For this preparation to be possible, many more education programs should be designed for specific ages, implemented, evaluated, and disseminated that:
Offer scientific knowledge about other animals, such as knowledge about their consciousness, emotions, creativity, and social behavior, without anthropomorphizing them but recognizing that it is common to downplay their capacities.
Promote empathy and compassion towards animals, helping children learn to connect emotionally with what domestic, farm, or wild animals feel, and motivating them to care for their well-being.
Help manage moral dilemmas related to treatment of animals by helping children and youth identify arguments in favor (i.e., thesis), against (i.e., antithesis), and alternatives (i.e., synthesis). For instance, children and adolescents could identify reasons in favor of zoos (e.g., protection of endangered species), against (e.g., anxiety caused by confinement in unnatural settings), and alternatives (e.g., minimum standards for every specific species).
Help identify and critically question moral disengagements (described by Bandura), that is, self-excuses to avoid feeling guilt or shame when doing (or considering doing) something inconsistent with one’s own moral standards, for example, minimization of consequences (e.g., animals really do not suffer), diffusion of responsibility (e.g. everyone does it), or advantageous comparisons (e.g., what is done to some humans is much worse).
Teach about responsible caring of domestic animals, learning how to identify their needs and emotional signs, and how to provide appropriate caring.
Create opportunities for children and adolescents to directly interact with animals in caring learning environments where adults model kindness and empathy for all living beings.
Provide support to children and adolescents who want to join others to create or participate in initiatives or campaigns. In our own studies, we have seen that many adolescents care deeply for animals, but consider that they can do very little to change societal practices. Leading or participating in collective campaigns and initiatives could help them empower and realize that they can actually do much to contribute to improve our relationship with animals.
By providing what a child or adolescent needs to make their own responsible, empathic, and scientifically informed decisions, they could evaluate their own particular situations and contexts and make decisions that could contribute to the well-being of animals while, at the same time, caring also for their own health and well-being. If new generations worldwide learn to take into consideration animals’ well-being in their everyday choices and behaviors, the welfare of millions of animals could improve greatly in the following decades. In that case, future citizens could say that we didn’t look the other way.
I am very grateful to Sergio Almeida, Andrea Bustamante, Amelie Chaux, Charlotte Greniez, Diana Jurado, Natalia Medina, Angelika Rettberg, Lina Saldarriaga, and Ana Maria Velásquez, as well as to Marvin W. Berkowitz and Jonathan M. Tirrell, editors of the Journal of Character Education, for their very relevant suggestions to previous versions of this manuscript.
