Animal Welfare and Food Security

The relationship between animal welfare and food security is complex, with animals providing nutrition and livelihoods for billions of people while also representing significant ethical obligations that food systems must address.

Key Facts

Approximately 820 million people globally are food insecure, with many depending on animal source foods for essential nutrients
Livestock provide livelihoods for approximately 1 billion people globally, primarily in low-income countries
Animal welfare improvements in production systems generally increase productivity and reduce losses, supporting food security
Alternative proteins including legumes, insects and precision fermentation may reduce food security concerns around welfare reform
The EAT-Lancet Commission identified diets that are both nutritionally adequate and compatible with much lower animal product consumption

Welfare Considerations

The food security argument against animal welfare reform deserves serious engagement rather than dismissal. For genuinely food insecure communities, the welfare of their animals and the welfare of their families are inseparable — sick, suffering animals provide less food, less draft power and fewer livelihoods. In this context, improving animal welfare is directly food security-positive. For wealthy communities using food security as an argument against welfare reform, the argument is much weaker — the EAT-Lancet diet demonstrates that excellent nutrition is achievable with dramatically reduced animal product consumption. Context sensitivity is essential: the same welfare reform can be food security-positive in one context and food security-neutral in another.

What You Can Do

Support animal welfare improvements in developing countries that simultaneously improve food security outcomes
Engage with the food security argument for welfare reform rather than dismissing it
Advocate for alternative protein development that can improve food security while reducing animal welfare harms
Support research into the food security implications of different animal welfare reform pathways
Distinguish between food security contexts when making arguments about the pace and nature of animal welfare reform