ICAS 3rd European Conference.
28-30 November 2013. Karlsruhe, Germany
Almost every technoscientific innovation is tested on nonhuman animals in order to get to the market: so called ‘animal experiments’ represent not only a huge market, but an established reality in every corner of the world. Technological developments, powerfully entrenched with industrialization, amplify almost every current use of nonhuman animals, such as in particular the so called field of “animal food production”. At the same time technology and scientific developments have also provided powerful means to materially overcome animal use, notably in the field of alternative methods.
Whereas the critique of so-called ‘animal experiments’ has a longstanding tradition in the animal rights movement, activists have yet to directly engage current projects in experimental research, or to discuss long-term movement goals in the context of the politics and philosophy of science. It is therefore important that animal advocates reflect on alternative methods for testing substances and for performing biomedical research, ones that do not involve animal exploitation. Furthermore, some technological projects like the idea of “in-vitro meat” are directed explicitly to overcome some uses of nonhuman animals.
The field of Critical Animal Studies encourages the collaboration between academic scholars and nonprofit organizations and activists.
For submission details and more information see https://dimde.monoceres.uberspace.de/icas/