The Albert Schweitzer Animal Welfare Fund, was established in 1981 is named after the famed scientist and humanitarian Albert Schweitzer and in recognition of his philosophy of Reverence for Life. The fund supports projects that ease the plight of animals, such as:
Seeking and implementing humane solutions to the problem of companion animal overpopulation
Humane education
Enhancing the humaneness and efficiency of animal shelter operations, sanctuaries and rescue centers
Protecting large animals and wild animals
Discovering ways to eliminate pain and suffering of animals used in biomedical research and testing, through reduction of numbers, improved protocols or by use of non-sentient substitutes.
About Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965)
Born in 1875, Schweitzer was sensitive to the suffering of all living things even as a child. At the age of 21, after receiving doctorates in music, theology, and philosophy, he declared that he would live for science and art until age 30, and then he would devote the rest of his life to serving humanity.
True to his word, he worked tirelessly to promote his mission and in 1913, established a missionary hospital at Lambaréné, Gabon (then French Equatorial Africa). Dr. Schweitzer was recognized with a Nobel Peace Prize in 1952.
Schweitzer died at Lambaréné in 1965 at the age of 90.
“Compassion, in which all ethics must take root, can only attain its full breadth and depth if it embraces all living creatures and does not limit itself to mankind.”
~ Albert Schweitzer
About Albert Schweitzer fund
The Albert Schweitzer Animal Welfare Fund was founded by two lifelong humanitarians, Dr. Marjorie Anchel and Dr. Herbert Rackow, to help and finance animal protection projects undertaken by non-profit, tax-exempt humane organizations based in the United States. The fund also supports the work of the American Friends Service Committee of the Society of Friends (AFSCSF), generally known as the Quakers, which administers certain charitable gift funds.
The Fund founders chose the AFSCSF to administer the fund because the Quaker philosophy of non-violence is appropriate to the treatment of all living things. Historically, Quakers have shown concern for animals in both work and deed, and its financial investments are in non-violent enterprises.
The Albert Schweitzer Foundation
Hear directly from the Albert Schweitzer Foundation team about their work:
Albert Schweitzer’s fundamental maxim – Reverence for Life – is also the guiding philosophy behind the work of the Albert Schweitzer Foundation. We strive for a society in which animals are no longer exploited and in which life is truly revered. Spreading veganism and ending animal suffering is a lengthy process. We use traditional animal welfare campaigns as interim steps on the path towards more progressive topics. This method has proven successful in opening doors that otherwise may have remained closed.
Companies – especially those operating in the food industry – have an enormous influence on the number of “farm animals” and the conditions they are kept in. To drive change in this area, our team launches campaigns aimed at getting companies to stop selling products that are the result of particularly cruel processes. Our most important campaigns in this area include the raising of welfare standards for broiler chickens and in the aquaculture industry and the elimination of cage eggs from supply chains. Our corporate outreach team also launches campaigns to get companies to extend and improve their vegan range of .
Consumers, too, wield considerable power. To reach as many people as possible, we launched the Pig Mobile Tour and the Vegan Taste Week. This (German) website and newsletter program encourages people to try a (more) plant-based diet. Our endeavors in the consumer outreach area benefit from tremendous voluntary support through our local groups. Furthermore, we finance legal action which is something most groups in Germany cannot do due to financial constraints. We also support international campaigns and share information as well as expertise with other animal welfare and animal rights organizations at both a national and an international level.
We see great prospects in bringing our campaigns to other countries. After establishing a foundation in Poland in 2017, we are now starting to plan expanding into other countries. Our work is made possible by donations, which we consider as investments by people eager to create the greatest possible change in the treatment of farmed animals. This is why we strive for maximum effectiveness and work efficiency.
The Albert Schweitzer Foundation advocates for farmed animals and promotes a vegan lifestyle. Donations support corporate campaigns, efficient lawsuits, its international expansion, and traditional animal welfare campaigns which are used as interim steps on the path towards more progressive topics.
A Short Note on Mark Rober:
We particularly want to mention him because he is a mechanical engineer, former NASA employee and he recently made a Youtube video about plant based meat replacements in a diet and how they affect the environment and our health over all. He also had Bill Gates to share his experience and views on the subject for a wider perspective. He tackled three main questions in the video:
Taste?
Good for me?
Good for the planet?
Apart from that he also visited the workshops and figured out how these alternate meats are made.
The video link is in the sources if you are interested to find out about alternate meats and figure out if its for you and want to make an informed choice.
Sources : https://schweitzerfund.org/
Mark Rober’s youtube page : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY1kMZp36IQSyNx_9h4mpCg
Mark Rober’s video: “Feeding Bill Gates A Fake Burger (to save the world)":