7. Break up technology monopolies into separate businesses and democratise ownership
What do we want
Anti-monopoly laws should be enforced to break up current tech monopolies into companies separated by their business type, and to prevent new monopolies from forming. These tech businesses should then be incentivised to democratise their ownership.
Why do we want it?
Google and Facebook accounted for two thirds of US online advertising spending in 2017, while Amazon was responsible for 75% of book sales. The profits of these corporations have enabled them to create billionaires, lobby governments, and eliminate competition around the world by either bankrupting or acquiring smaller businesses. Recent data scandals have shown just how dangerous this power can be.
Developments in technology will only exacerbate these issues. In a future where AI may begin to deploy our personal data for our own benefit and the public good (for example using medical analytics to determine the most effective healthcare), control over the information that we do or don’t share will be absolutely crucial to maintaining privacy and democratic control.
Breaking up tech monopolies is the first step towards ensuring democratic control. The biggest firms could be broken up by business type or into existing platforms. For example, Facebook could be divorced from WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger.
These independent businesses should then be incentivised to design democratic control into their constitutions. There are many ways in which this could be done. Platform users could become members of a co-operative, for example, which could hold shares and a seat on the board.
Other models have been emerging which help users to regain control of their data and how it is shared. Several enterprises, such as The Good Data and Solid, are already providing services through which internet and social media users are able to do this.
Who else is working on this?
8. Create a Fair Food Act recognising food sovereignty in national law
What do we want?
The UK should recognise food sovereignty in law, and integrate it into policy planning for agriculture, health, education and trade.
Why do we want it?
Malnutrition, food bank usage, obesity and hunger are all increasing in the UK. Meanwhile, over 33,000 small to medium farms closed down in the past decade, indicating what Global Justice Now calls “a series of crises in how we produce, distribute and sell food”. Under UK law, food is currently treated as a commodity rather than a basic human right.
England lacks a unified food and farming plan, with policy falling under the remit of different government departments including agriculture, health, education and trade. Key policy aims, to date, have been to maintain low prices and high yields: short-term targets that result in intensive farming and an unsustainable reliance on the fossil-fuel-based agrochemical industry.
A Fair Food Act should be created, taking a rights-based approach to food from the concept of food sovereignty, which La Via Campesina defines as: “the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems”.
National legislation has already recognised food sovereignty in Ecuador, Bolivia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Senegal, Uruguay, Venezuela and Mali; movements in Canada, Australia, Europe and Scotland, are pursuing similar goals. The UN Declaration on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas was drafted by food sovereignty group La Via Campesina. Such legal protections could help farmers and consumers alike to regain community control over the food system and ensure that it is both sustainable and accessible for all.
Who else is working on this?
9. Phase out animal testing by 2025, as the Netherlands is planning.
What do we want?
The government should introduce a complete ban on all animal testing for chemical safety, to come into effect by 2025.
Why do we want it?
In 2016, the Dutch government announced a plan to phase out animal testing by 2025, providing an example of what was possible in this space.
The US Food and Drug Administration reports that 92 out of every 100 drugs that pass animal testing fail for humans. The biochemistry of animals varies, to the point where testing on them for human benefit has little worth. Crude skin allergy tests in guinea pigs only predict reactions in humans 72% of the time, yet a combination of chemical analysis and cell-based alternative methods predict reactions 90% of the time. Developments in non-animal alternatives such as ‘organ on a chip’ have demonstrated that cruelty-free testing is viable. The growing use of AI will only accelerate this transition. Ending animal testing means more reliable, humane, and cost-effective research.
The US National Research Council called for a move away from animal testing to make toxicity “more directly relevant to human exposures.” This step would be widely popular, humane, and is becoming increasingly realistic.
Animal testing for chemical safety also affects around 115 million animals per year and is usually done without anaesthetic. It causes immense suffering as well as fear and distress.
Who else is working on this?
10. Ban single use plastic packaging by 2021.
What do we want?
The government should ban all single-use plastic packaging by 2021.
Why do we want it?
Global annual plastic production has reached over 300 million tonnes. A sea of plastic roughly the size of France is occupying the Atlantic Ocean – and plastic is made to last. Each year that goes by, the size of this symbolic plastic island grows. Plastic pollution affects the food chain and water sources, threatens wildlife, attracts pollutants and affects our health. Moving away from a disposable mentality and reducing consumption is key to improving the health of our environment. Reducing plastic use, adopting recycling methods, using more ‘sustainable’ biodegradable materials and moving away from single use materials can lead to cleaner oceans and less landfill.
Tesco have committed to banning single use plastic by 2019, while Costa Rica have made plans to ban it by 2021. Although other supermarkets and governments have committed to implementing a ban within ten or even twenty years, we believe it both necessary and possible to implement a ban much earlier than this. In fact, Maharashtra, a state in India the size of Japan, has already implemented a total ban.
Who else is working on this?