Farmed animal welfare legislation has advanced significantly in the European Union and some US states, but global trade and enforcement gaps mean billions of animals remain outside meaningful legal protection.
Legislative frameworks for farmed animal welfare create the floor below which treatment cannot fall. Without enforceable standards, market pressures consistently drive conditions toward the minimum viable for production. The most significant welfare improvements — gestation crate phase-outs, cage-free transitions, enriched colony adoption — have come from a combination of legislation, corporate commitments, and consumer pressure. International harmonization of standards is needed to prevent welfare being traded away in global supply chains.