Animal Welfare and Food Waste | Animal Welfare Hub

Food waste has profound animal welfare implications because every wasted animal product represents animal suffering that produced no human benefit whatsoever.

Key Facts

One-third of all food produced globally is wasted — including approximately 30% of all meat and fish
In wealthy countries, most food waste occurs at the retail and consumer level
Wasted animal products represent the full welfare cost of production without any food system benefit
Reducing food waste by 50% would require significantly fewer farm animals while maintaining protein supply

Welfare Considerations

Food waste is an underappreciated animal welfare issue. When animal products are wasted — whether meat, dairy, eggs, or fish — the full welfare cost of production has been incurred for zero human nutritional benefit. Every unit of wasted animal food represents unnecessary animal suffering. Reducing food waste is therefore one of the most direct ways to reduce animal welfare harm without changing diet. Policies targeting retail over-ordering, consumer planning, and food redistribution to prevent waste have direct animal welfare benefits proportional to their effectiveness.

What You Can Do

Plan meals carefully and only purchase animal products you will consume
Store animal products properly to maximize shelf life and minimize waste
Support food redistribution organizations that prevent animal product waste
Advocate for retail food waste policies that set measurable reduction targets