I investigate whether farmed animals may have positive lives now or in a few decades.
Now:
For my guesses for pain intensities, I think all the farmed animals I analysed have negative lives.
For Laura Duffy’s guesses for pain intensities[1], I guess the following farmed animals:
May have positive/negative lives. Hens in cage-free aviaries, broilers in a reformed scenario, and decapod shrimp on an ongrowing farm with air asphyxiation, ice slurry or electrical stunning slaughter.
Have negative lives. Hens in conventional cages, and broilers in a conventional scenario.
In the next few decades, I am open to at least chickens’ lives becoming positive in some animal-friendly countries.
I am quite uncertain about the time when farmed animals of a given species will have positive lives in a certain region, if ever. To minimise the risk of decreasing the welfare of farmed animals, I think one should prioritise:
Improving the living conditions of farmed animals over decreasing the number of farmed animals with supposedly negative lives.
Learning more about:
The welfare of farmed animals by species and region.
The timeline of the effect of interventions aiming to decrease the number of farmed animals.
Thanks! I wasn’t aware of the great work that https://welfarefootprint.org/ is doing, and your attempt to bring it to a total value is exactly what I was looking for. From what I understand the “best” scenarios (cage free hens and reformed broilers) are still below the example standard I discussed here. Would you agree?
I guess farmed animals have positive lives under the conditions required by the Naturland standard. So I certainly agree they are better than those of hens in cage-free aviaries and broilers in a reformed scenario, which I guess respect negative lives.
Thanks for the post, Christoph! You may be interested in mine on Farmed animals may have positive lives now or in a few decades?.
Thanks! I wasn’t aware of the great work that https://welfarefootprint.org/ is doing, and your attempt to bring it to a total value is exactly what I was looking for. From what I understand the “best” scenarios (cage free hens and reformed broilers) are still below the example standard I discussed here. Would you agree?
I guess farmed animals have positive lives under the conditions required by the Naturland standard. So I certainly agree they are better than those of hens in cage-free aviaries and broilers in a reformed scenario, which I guess respect negative lives.