The next decades will see major shifts in how humans interact with animals — from alternative proteins and cultured meat to AI-assisted welfare monitoring. Understanding these trends helps advocates prepare for what's ahead.
The future of animal welfare involves both enormous opportunities and profound dilemmas. Cultured meat could eliminate the need for most livestock slaughter within decades. AI monitoring can detect individual animal suffering earlier and more accurately than current methods. However, gene editing animals to be less sensitive to pain raises deep questions about whether reducing capacity to suffer is an improvement or an erasure of morally relevant experience. Wild animal welfare interventions at scale are possible but require careful ethical deliberation. Advocates who engage with these emerging issues now will be better positioned to shape them.