Social Enterprise is an organization or company that sells goods or services in the market and then takes that profit and puts it towards combatting a social issue- like protecting the environment or improving areas of poverty. I could not find very many social enterprise organizations that address slaughterhouses. However, there are a lot of food companies and restaurants that sell food that is “free range,” bought from small local farms, or completely vegetarian or vegan. These companies are addressing the issue through social enterprise because the money that people spend on these better alternatives, they are not giving to companies that treat their animals poorly. I could definitely get more involved with my issue by starting to buy my food from companies like this rather than big companies that are getting away with abusing their animals in horrible slaughterhouse conditions. I could also eat more vegan options. On a bigger scope, if The Ohio State University started buying their food from companies that prove to take better care of their animals, this could have a huge impact on this social issue. It is challenging because smaller companies that are treating their animals better, are usually not making as much product. The Ohio State University has a lot of students to provide food for, and this can create an issue when picking who to buy from. Another challenge, is that a lot of restaurants and companies that sell vegetarian, vegan, or environmentally better products are selling them for a higher price than the companies who make more product in a faster time.
A personally responsible citizen would be someone who opts for vegan options, or buys free range eggs at the store. Participatory citizens are the people who are leading or working for social enterprise organizations that are putting their profit into combatting slaughterhouse conditions. Finally, a social-justice oriented citizen would be someone who finds out the reason why the horrible conditions in slaughterhouses exist, and puts out awareness and money towards ways to combat the issue at the root.
I watched a TEDx video on how to create a successful social enterprise that was presented by a man who created a social enterprise for foster care. He explains that social enterprise is all about using entrepreneurship to solve big social, environment, and justice issues. He then discusses his B.I.B. methodology, which stands for business, impact, brand. “Business” regards what you want to do and why you want to do it. In this case, I want to solve issues with slaughterhouses and their terrible conditions because it is something that I am passionate about. He makes it clear that I need to do research on my topic before diving in. It is important to know what is already being done for my issue so I can be efficient and not take resources away from a existing sources. Next is “impact”, which asks what value am I creating and who am I doing it for. He then goes on to explain that it is essential to find successful strategies, and to collect quantitative data that can show that your company is solving problems for the better. The last letter stands for “brand,” which is all about who champions you and are they credible. The speaker explains how important networking and gaining supporters for your social enterprise is. All of these are important things to remember when looking at my social issue through a social enterprise lens.