Similarities Between Human & Animal Culture and Consciousness with Carl Safina

Carl Safina is the Founding President of the Safina Center, a nonprofit organization that supports advocacies and programs that spearhead wildlife preservation and conservation and raise awareness for species endangerment. Carl also hosted the PBS series Saving the Ocean, where he shows the beauty of Mother Nature and unseen societies and cultures to engage viewers into taking action in preserving what we have for future generations.

Carl joins me today to discuss what makes people and animals alike in terms of consciousness and culture. He explains how animals also have culture and how the way they live is not so different from our own. He shares where his passion for wildlife conservation started and the different pets he’s cared for throughout his childhood. He discusses why he disagrees with ascribing human behavior to everyday animal activities. Carl also shares the positive changes he sees regarding conservation efforts.

"People and animals are living the same life in different ways." - Carl Safina

This week on Ctrl-Alt-Meat:

• What inspired Carl's fascination with animals from a young age
• The different pets Carl raised growing up
• The similarities between animals and humans on how we live our lives
• Comparing and contrasting human consciousness and animal consciousness
• What it means for animals to have a culture
• Why humans developed culture and its significance in how we make sense of the world
• Why Carl is not a fan of anthropomorphizing animals
• The two mistakes people make when assuming animal intelligence
• The extinction crisis and how we can improve our conservation efforts
• Addressing the species imbalance that the world is facing today
• The role of animal agriculture in the endangerment of animal populations
• Countries with generally good farming and fishing practices
• Why Saving the Ocean is a more optimistic program on environmental conservation
• The best ways to tackle environmental issues
• What the average person can do to boost conservation efforts
• Positive changes regarding various conservation programs

Resources Mentioned:

• A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold

Connect with Carl Safina:

• Carl Safina official website
• Saving the Ocean documentary
• The Safina Center

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