Nutrition is foundational to cattle welfare, with poor feed quality causing metabolic disease, reduced immune function, chronic hunger, and production diseases that cause significant suffering.
Nutritional deficiency causes genuine suffering in cattle through hunger, metabolic disease, and reduced immune competence. SARA causes painful rumen dysfunction and systemic inflammation. Ketosis causes weakness and neurological signs. These conditions are preventable through careful feed management and monitoring. The welfare cost of poor nutrition is enormous at population level yet prevention is within the control of farm management.