Welfare of Animals in Plant-Based Diet Transitions

As more people transition to plant-based diets, understanding the animal welfare implications of different food system choices helps maximize welfare benefit per dietary change.

Key Facts

Beef has the highest animal welfare cost per kilogram of protein across most welfare metrics
Dairy and eggs involve ongoing animal use rather than single slaughter events
Poultry has the largest individual animal welfare impact due to the scale of individual birds affected
Bivalves and insects are lower welfare-risk proteins that some welfare-conscious consumers include

Welfare Considerations

Plant-based diet transitions benefit animal welfare most when guided by welfare-weighted thinking rather than simple binary distinctions. All-or-nothing approaches miss significant opportunities: reducing beef consumption produces large per-kilogram welfare gains, reducing poultry benefits the most individual animals, and reducing dairy and egg consumption addresses ongoing animal use. Welfare-conscious dietary change considers which reductions produce the greatest welfare benefit per unit of dietary change, which may differ from what is most visible or culturally prominent. Supporting any dietary shift toward less animal consumption benefits animals while recognizing that the direction and magnitude of change matters.

What You Can Do

Prioritize reducing beef and poultry consumption for the greatest welfare impact per dietary change
Use welfare-weighted thinking to guide dietary transitions rather than focusing only on visible animal products
Support plant-based food development that makes welfare-positive choices accessible and affordable
Engage constructively with people making partial dietary changes rather than demanding all-or-nothing transitions