Welfare Science

Pig Welfare Food System Transformation

Transforming food systems to improve pig welfare requires changes across production, processing, retail and consumer behaviour simultaneously.

Key Facts

Food system transformation requires coordinated action across multiple stages of the supply chain
Higher welfare production costs require retail price premiums or subsidy to be economically viable
Processing infrastructure investment for higher welfare systems is needed alongside farm change
Consumer behaviour change at scale requires sustained behaviour change programmes
Government policy including subsidy reform can align financial incentives with welfare improvement

Welfare Considerations

Food system transformation for pig welfare cannot be achieved through single-lever approaches. Simultaneous action on production standards, retail procurement, consumer communication and government policy is needed for sustainable welfare improvement at scale.

What You Can Do

Engage with food system change organisations working on multiple supply chain levers simultaneously
Support policy advocacy for subsidy reform aligning financial incentives with higher welfare production
Make consistent higher-welfare food purchasing decisions as a contribution to demand-side transformation