Dr Jonathan Birch is a prize winning Professor of Philosophy at the London School of Economics (LSE). His research focuses on animal sentience, welfare, and ethics. He is also Director of The Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience, a new research centre based in LSE.

Dr Birch is an internationally respected philosopher and author of dozens of articles and two books, including 2025’s award winning book The Edge of Sentience. In 2021, he was the Principal Investigator of a review that led the UK to recognise cephalopods and decapod crustaceans as sentient. Jonathan’s work has been cited in several policies banning octopus farming. He is also a founding member of the Insect Welfare Research Society, a group of researchers working together to close gaps regarding evidence on insect welfare and sentience.

In 2014, he received a Philip Leverhulme Prize, which recognises 'the achievement of outstanding researchers whose work has already attracted international recognition and whose future career is exceptionally promising'.

You can find more about Jonathan's work here:

- https://www.lse.ac.uk/people/jonathan-birch

- https://www.lse.ac.uk/sentience

Today's topics:

What is sentience? In today's podcast episode I chat with Dr Jonathan Birch, a prize-winning philosopher and expert on sentience. We discuss whether AI is or will ever be sentient, as well as whether plants, fish or insects are sentient.

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For more exclusive content and personal writing from me, check out my Substack here.

On my Substack, I share not only my own reflections and personal thoughts on veganism, but also my journey and struggles. You’ll get a deeper insight into the issues that matter most to me and, in doing so, I hope it helps you feel more connected to your own veganism as well. It’s a space where we can connect and explore the intersection of compassion, reason and rationality together. By joining my Substack you also support the work that I do!

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📚 My second book How to Argue With a Meat Eater (And Win Every Time) + if you’ve read the book, you can leave a review here!

📚 My first book This is Vegan Propaganda (& Other Lies the Meat Industry Tells You).

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In this episode of The Disclosure Podcast, I break down the UK Supreme Court ruling that prevents Oatly from using the slogan “post-milk generation” on its packaging, and explore why this case is nothing to do with consumer confusion and everything to do with protecting the dairy industry. I discuss the inconsistencies and absurdities in current labelling laws, what this reveals about industry influence and lobbying, and why situations like this should encourage us to question broader claims made about dairy, from health and sustainability to ethics.

Order my new book How to Go (and Stay) Vegan here.

For more exclusive content and personal writing from me, check out my Substack here.

On my Substack, I share not only my own reflections and personal thoughts on veganism, but also my journey and struggles. You’ll get a deeper insight into the issues that matter most to me and, in doing so, I hope it helps you feel more connected to your own veganism as well. It’s a space where we can connect and explore the intersection of compassion, reason and rationality together. By joining my Substack you also support the work that I do.

Through my Substack you can also receive regular free 'Good News Roundups' - a collection of positive and inspiring stories from the world of veganism.

If you’d like to support my work separately to Substack, you can also make a one-off or monthly donation here or through my PayPal.

If you’re interested in reading my other books, you can find them here:

📚 My second book How to Argue With a Meat Eater (And Win Every Time) + if you’ve read the book, you can leave a review here!

📚 My first book This is Vegan Propaganda (& Other Lies the Meat Industry Tells You).

Order my new book How to Go (and Stay) Vegan here.

For more exclusive content and personal writing from me, check out my Substack here.

On my Substack, I share not only my own reflections and personal thoughts on veganism, but also my journey and struggles. You’ll get a deeper insight into the issues that matter most to me and, in doing so, I hope it helps you feel more connected to your own veganism as well. It’s a space where we can connect and explore the intersection of compassion, reason and rationality together. By joining my Substack you also support the work that I do!

Through my Substack you can also receive regular free 'Good News Roundups' - a collection of positive and inspiring stories from the world of veganism.

If you’d like to support my work separately to Substack, you can also make a one-off or monthly donation here or through my PayPal.

If you’re interested in reading my other books, you can find them here:

📚 My second book How to Argue With a Meat Eater (And Win Every Time) + if you’ve read the book, you can leave a review here!

📚 My first book This is Vegan Propaganda (& Other Lies the Meat Industry Tells You).