Ecological, Reproductive & Intergenerational Justice
Humane Families
Humane Families serves as a collective of organizations that support ecological, reproductive, and intergenerational justice. We believe that our decisions, procreative and otherwise, should be respectful of human and non-human communities. Changing your diet for animals, or changing other forms of consumption for the planet works best when when combined with sustainable family planning. Humane family policies leave room for animals and their families, room to thrive.
Here are some facts.
The most effective way to address many of the impacts on our environment and other species, like climate change, is through policies that encourage smaller or more ecocentrically-sized families rather than larger ones. It’s up to 20 times more effective than changing diet or forms of transportation in reducing carbon emissions.
Small changes in family size have big consequences. By 2100, the world could have either move towards or away from sustainable development by a factor of billions.
Better family planning is the best way to reduce inequality. Other interventions alone are simply too late.
Our Current Letter to the UN
No more games. It's a line in the sand.
Do you believe that every child deserves a fair start?
Urge the United Nations Secretary General to simply say that all children deserve a fair start in life.
The Fair Start Movement and several other organizations recently wrote to the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, simply asking for an informal statement to bring family policy into compliance with human rights in light of the worsening climate and inequity crises.
He did not act. His failure to take action has cost many lives, will cost many more and ensured a regression in women’s equity.
Our request of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres:
We are now asking for an informal statement - consistent with what all the undersigned believe - stating that:
1) all kids deserve a fair start in life
2) that this standard – consistent with the Children’s Rights Convention - is the baseline for all cost/benefit analysis
3) and that this baseline mandates climate restoration through birth equity as the first and overriding human right, something reflected in our petition before the UNHRC to ensure this ecosocial fair starts in life.
There are clearly effective ways to begin this work, on the ground, today. Instead, the United Nations is backing the exploitation of future children to grow economies in violation of human rights. That move places costs on them and on their mothers, to benefit a few - including the children of the Secretary General.
The likelihood of climate reparations make this statement more urgent. The discussions around climate reparations reflect the simple findings in our peer-reviewed research that 1) the Children’s Convention should have been used as the benchmark for family planning policy under the International Bill of Human Rights, 2) that doing so would have largely evaded the climate and inequity crises we face today, and 3) that this counterfactual is the standard for climate reparations, which also counsels their primary use as climate restorative birth equity family planning reparations as described above. Many in the Fair Start Movement have personally witnessed leaders evade these changes and prevented revelations of the supporting research, or intentionally promoted ineffective/domestic lesser standards, for their own personal gain.
A declaration calling for a fair start in life for every child is necessary for climate reparations to succeed. Such a statement would provide a mechanism to end the exploitation of future generations and ensure that they are compensated for the costs of climate injustice.
Take action by adding your name to the list of signatories using the form below
The most effective approach to solving our greatest challenges.
