Food Systems

Reducing Animal Suffering Through Dietary Choices

Dietary choices are among the most direct and impactful ways individuals can reduce animal suffering, with evidence showing clear welfare improvements from plant-based food choices.

Key Facts

The average American diet requires approximately 100 land animals to be killed each year
Shifting from omnivore to vegetarian diet reduces animal deaths by approximately 50%
Shifting to fully plant-based diet reduces farmed animal suffering most dramatically
Even partial reductions — eliminating chicken and pork — deliver large welfare gains due to high animal numbers
The suffering-reduction per dollar spent on plant-based eating is among the highest of any individual action

Welfare Considerations

Dietary choices work through market mechanisms to reduce demand for animal products, which eventually reduces the number of animals raised and killed under factory farming conditions. The welfare impact is not immediate but is real and quantifiable. Focusing reductions on chicken and pork delivers the highest welfare benefit per dietary change because of the enormous numbers of these animals and the particularly poor conditions of their production.

What You Can Do

Calculate your current dietary impact using an online animal welfare calculator
Begin with reducing the highest-impact categories: chicken, pork, and eggs
Explore a variety of plant-based proteins to find options you genuinely enjoy
Try Veganuary or other structured plant-based challenge programs for structured transition support
Share resources about the welfare benefits of dietary reduction without judgment or pressure