The growth of plant-based and vegan food options has created new leverage for animal welfare but also raises questions about consistency and scale of impact.
The relationship between veganism and animal welfare is straightforward at the population level: dramatically reducing animal product consumption reduces the number of animals kept in often difficult conditions. Individual dietary choices aggregate to market signals that reduce production over time. At the same time, welfare improvements within animal agriculture reach the billions of animals who will continue to be farmed during any realistic transition period. Both approaches — dietary change and welfare reform — reduce animal suffering and are complementary rather than competing.