Moving beyond absence of suffering to measure positive welfare states requires new indicators that capture whether farm animals are experiencing rewarding and fulfilling lives.
The shift from welfare-as-absence-of-suffering to welfare-as-positive-states requires fundamentally different measurement approaches. A pig that is not lame, not fighting, and not displaying stereotypies may still be experiencing a life of monotony and frustration — negative welfare in the absence of any measurable physical harm. Positive welfare requires environments where pigs can play, explore, root in rewarding substrate, and engage in positive social interactions. These positive states are measurable: play behaviour, cheerful posture, and judgement bias tests that reveal optimistic cognitive bias are validated positive welfare indicators. Certification schemes and producer incentives that reward measurable positive welfare provide the market signals needed to drive investment in environments that support animal flourishing.