How breeding programs that select for production traits have created welfare problems in modern farm animals, and the case for welfare-inclusive breeding.
Genetic selection for production traits has created a welfare crisis that is built into the biology of commercial farm animals. Dairy cows metabolically overwhelmed by milk production demands, broiler chickens whose legs cannot support their rapid body growth, and laying hens whose calcium demand exceeds skeletal capacity - these are all welfare problems created by breeding decisions, not management failures. Welfare-inclusive breeding that explicitly selects for health, robustness, and behavioral traits alongside production is technically possible and is beginning to be implemented. But changing breeding programs takes years to decades to show population-level effects.