The substrate pigs stand and lie on profoundly affects their physical health and ability to express natural behaviours. Concrete slatted floors — the industry standard — are associated with significant welfare costs.
Slatted concrete floors are a welfare compromise that prioritises ease of manure management over animal welfare. Standing and lying on hard, cold, inflexible surfaces causes hoof wear, joint problems, and skin pressure sores in pigs that spend most of their lives on these surfaces. More fundamentally, slatted floors eliminate rooting — pigs cannot engage with the substrate in any meaningful way. Organic bedding materials — straw, wood shavings, hemp — provide the environmental complexity that pigs are motivated to investigate and root through. They also improve thermal comfort, reduce odour, and enable natural resting behaviour. The welfare case for substrate provision is strong and well-evidenced; the economic barrier is the additional cost of material and management. Consumer willingness to pay for higher-welfare products is the primary driver for change.