Economic analysis of animal welfare improvement reveals that many welfare upgrades have modest costs relative to food prices, and that consumer willingness to pay can drive market-level change.
The economics of animal welfare improvement are more favourable than commonly assumed. Consumer willingness-to-pay surveys consistently show that people value higher welfare and would pay modest premiums to access it. Supply-side challenges including investment requirements and transition costs create barriers, but these are short-term relative to the long-term welfare benefits. Policy instruments including mandatory standards eliminate the competitive disadvantage facing welfare-progressive producers and align market incentives with welfare outcomes.