POSTS BY Felix Aiwanger
20 October 2025

Towards the True Price of Meat

Despite mounting scientific and ethical consensus about the multiple harms of meat production for animals, humans and the environment, current regulatory frameworks largely fail to internalise these costs. On the one hand, animal agriculture is resource-intensive, contributing significantly to climate change, deforestation, water pollution, and biodiversity loss. On the other, it entails systemic ethical issues with regard to the breeding, keeping and killing of animals. This contribution explores the legal feasibility of a cap-and-trade system for meat designed to address the multifaceted harms of animal agriculture and to push meat products closer to their true price. Continue reading >>
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05 September 2025
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Personhood Across Borders

On 10 July 2025, the Swiss State Secretariat for International Finance recognized the Spanish saltwater lagoon Mar Menor as a legal subject – at least to the extent of granting it access to environmental information. This decision followed a request for information submitted by the lagoon’s legal representative. The case demonstrates that the legal personhood of ecosystems can operate across national borders. Could ecosystems like the Mar Menor, in the future, bring damages actions against companies whose activities in another country cause ecological harm? Continue reading >>
12 October 2024

Halbgare Würste

Bekanntlich sind Gesetze wie Würste. Doch dass man – anders als nach dem Otto von Bismarck zugeschriebenen Zitat – bei beiden durchaus dabei sein sollte, wenn sie gemacht werden, zeigt die momentane Reform des Tierschutzgesetzes. Am 26. September fand im Bundestag die erste Lesung statt. Der Gesetzesentwurf wurde in den vergangenen eineinhalbjährigen Vorarbeiten an entscheidenden Stellen abgeschwächt oder nicht zu Ende gedacht und begegnet deshalb rechtlichen Bedenken. Bevor es zu spät ist, sollten sich die anstehenden Ausschussberatungen jetzt um zukunftsfähige Regelungen bemühen, statt halbgare Kompromisse zu verwursten. Continue reading >>
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