Culture & Animals Foundation

04/27/2026

𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗘𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 | 𝗧𝗼𝗺 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗟𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲

Join us online next 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟭, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗮𝘁 𝟭𝟮 𝗽.𝗺. 𝗘𝗧 for a presentation of the 2025 Tom Regan Visiting Research Fellow, Zach Ferguson.

A Ph.D. candidate in Philosophy at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ferguson is currently researching his dissertation on the evolution of philosophical discussions surrounding vegetarianism and veganism, and his presentation is titled "Moral Character and Meat Eating."

His talk, which is coordinated by NC State University Libraries, is co-sponsored by CAF and the Animals and Society Section of the American Sociological Association.

RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/d7FAkxsW

The Special Collections Research Center invites you to an engaging virtual presentation to listen to a thought-provoking presentation by the 2025 Tom Regan Visiting Research Fellow, Zachary Ferguson. A Ph.D. candidate in Philosophy at UNC–Chapel Hill, Ferguson is currently researching his dissertation on the evolution of philosophical discussions surrounding vegetarianism and veganism. His presentation is titled “Moral Character and Meat Eating.”

According to Ferguson, “it is not hard to show that industrial animal farming is morally wrong. However, it is surprisingly difficult to show that the wrongness of farming practices means that it is wrong for consumers to eat meat. This is something that early advocates overlooked, and some philosophers have recently argued that the same principles that support animal advocacy also give us moral reasons to sometimes eat meat. In this talk, I argue against these views and show that we do have compelling moral reasons not to eat meat. To do so, I focus on elements of moral character, including the ways that we perceive animal products and how we feel towards them."

Where: Zoom (Virtual Event)When: Fri, May 1 12:00-1:00pm Eastern Time (US and Canada)

This event is free and open to the public.

Register at go.ncsu.edu/trvrf-presentation

04/23/2026

CAF awarded Olga Yarovaya a grant for "Warm Bodies: Cats and Survival in Wartime Ukraine," a collage series examining how cats became indispensable to Ukrainian survival since Russia's invasion. Through found Soviet-era print materials, Olha reframes animal-human dependence not as sentiment, but as a urgent question of shared vulnerability and rights.

Learn more about Olga's project here: https://cultureandanimals.org/grantee/olga-yarovaya/

04/22/2026

CAF awarded Emilio Uribe a grant for "A Shared History," a research project restoring the memory of moosni-iime, sacred sea turtle shelters protected for generations by the Comcáac people of the Sonoran Desert. Through oral histories, participatory mapping, and ecological monitoring, Emilio explores whether green turtles are returning to ancestral sites.

Learn more about Emilio's project here: https://cultureandanimals.org/grantee/emilio-uribe/

04/21/2026

CAF awarded Paulina Siemieniec a grant for "Animal Care as Moral Aesthetics," a philosophical paper arguing that care labor carries a tangible moral and aesthetic quality. Drawing on five years volunteering at a wildlife rehabilitation center, Paulina contends that justice can be materially felt and perceived, not merely reasoned.

Learn more about Paulina's project here: https://cultureandanimals.org/grantee/paulina-siemieniec/

04/20/2026

CAF awarded Ana Paula Rosillo a grant for "La Liberación de Kshamenk" — a documentary about the only captive orca in South America, who spent 33 years at Mundo Marino before his death. The film transforms his story into a legal and cultural case for ending cetacean captivity.

Learn more about Ana's project here: https://cultureandanimals.org/grantee/ana-paula-rosillo/

04/19/2026

𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗘𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 | 𝗧𝗼𝗺 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗟𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲

Join us on 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟭, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗮𝘁 𝟭𝟮 𝗽.𝗺. 𝗘𝗧 for an online presentation of the 2025 Tom Regan Visiting Research Fellow, Zach Ferguson. A Ph.D. candidate in Philosophy at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ferguson is currently researching his dissertation on the evolution of philosophical discussions surrounding vegetarianism and veganism, and his presentation is titled "Moral Character and Meat Eating." According to Ferguson:

“It is not hard to show that industrial animal farming is morally wrong. However, it is surprisingly difficult to show that the wrongness of farming practices means that it is wrong for consumers to eat meat. This is something that early advocates overlooked, and some philosophers have recently argued that the same principles that support animal advocacy also give us moral reasons to sometimes eat meat. In this talk, I argue against these views and show that we do have compelling moral reasons not to eat meat. To do so, I focus on elements of moral character, including the ways that we perceive animal products and how we feel towards them.”

His talk, which is coordinated by NC State University Libraries, is co-sponsored by CAF and the Animals and Society Section of the American Sociological Association.

RSVP here: https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/events/tom-regan-visiting-research-fellowship-presentation

04/17/2026

The International Centre for Animal Rights and Ethics - ICARE has launched a six-week online live course designed for those working to transition food systems away from animal exploitation.

Perfect for legal professionals, NGO professionals, campaigners and movement organisers, policy and public officers, advocates, researchers and advanced students, some highlights of the course include:

- Weekly live sessions with international experts (Tuesdays, 4:00 pm CEST)
- Hands-on policy clinic to develop a practical roadmap for participants’ own jurisdiction
- Certificate of completion upon fulfilling course requirements

Registration deadline: 10 May 2026 | Limited cohort: 30 participants
Course fee: 150 EUR (partial and full scholarships available)
More information and registration: https://www.icare-animals.org/foodsystems-course

04/17/2026

CAF awarded Jessica Ordaz a grant for "Plant Powered Abya Yala" — a forthcoming Duke University Press book challenging Eurocentric narratives of veganism by centering Indigenous, Afro-Indigenous, and Latinx relationships to land, animals, and plants. Jessica's research reframes the origins of veganism through a decolonial lens.

Learn more about Jessica's project here: https://cultureandanimals.org/grantee/jessica-ordaz/

04/16/2026

Animated Wor(l)ds is coming to life.

CAF is pleased to share a recent talk on Animated Wor(l)ds: Language and Relationality for Multispecies Kinship, a multi-media publication by grantees Elizabeth Tavella and Eva Spiegelhofer, presented with The Kerulos Center for Nonviolence.

Blending art, language, and ecology, the project explores what it means to live ethically with other species.

Forthcoming with Radish Press, stay tuned as Animated Wor(l)ds unfold.

Watch the full talk here: https://youtu.be/ksU1NELaLgI

04/16/2026

CAF awarded Kasturi Mahadik a grant for "Beyond the West" — a research project investigating alternatives to animal testing across non-Western countries. With 92% of animal-tested drugs failing in human trials, Kasturi's work helps policymakers in the Global South chart their own paths toward reduced reliance on animal research.

Learn more about Kasturi's project here: https://cultureandanimals.org/grantee/kasturi-mahadik/