Industrial animal agriculture contributes significantly to climate change while causing animal suffering. Understanding this connection helps frame animal welfare as an environmental issue.
The relationship between industrial animal farming, animal welfare, and climate change is not merely correlational — intensive production systems optimise for volume at the expense of both welfare and environmental sustainability. The environmental damage caused by factory farming — greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, land use for feed crops — contributes to the climate and biodiversity changes that harm wild animals and ecosystems globally. The alignment between welfare-positive dietary changes (reducing factory farmed animal products) and climate-positive dietary changes (reducing animal product consumption overall) means that animal welfare advocates and climate advocates are largely working toward the same consumption shifts. This convergence provides political and strategic opportunities for coalition building.