It takes long to improve the lives of farm animals

1. Economics: cheap wins

The free market

Export turns the whole world into a market. Trade agreements, for example in the World Trade Organization, increasingly remove restrictions on ethical grounds. Those who care least about animal welfare produce most cheaply. Countries that export much of their meat and dairy put pressure on animal welfare at home and abroad.

Low prices and too many producers

Every improvement makes animal products more expensive. Farmers would like higher prices, but hardly anyone stops or invests in animal-friendly housing while sales are uncertain. On top of that, taxpayers already pay part of the price in advance, through subsidies and the cost of cleaning up damage to the environment, water and landscape. As a result, fair producers seem unjustly expensive.

Faith in technology and growth

Since the Second World War, technology and economic growth have brought so many benefits that we also want to solve their drawbacks, such as environmental damage and animal suffering, with even more technology and growth.

2. Invisibility and habit

The animal is invisible

The lives of the animals take place behind closed shed doors. The meat on your plate does not show where it comes from or how the animal lived.

Years of image building

From childhood we are taught that animal products are healthy and necessary. Looking into the abuses leads to uncomfortable conclusions: that you have been misled, that you need to change your behaviour and that it costs money. Read more about indifference and changing behaviour.

Everyone has something to hide

Producers, governments and consumers have an interest in not holding each other accountable. The interests of the animal are commercially unattractive: the animal is "born to lose". Read also Who is responsible for animal rights?

3. Politics and enforcement

Inconsistent policy

Governments do not make farmers pay for the drawbacks of their business. Taxpayers pay for the damage to the environment, clean water and landscape. Factory farming is tolerated, even though animal welfare laws should protect animals.

Little enforcement

There are rules, but enforcement lags behind. In many countries a farm is inspected for animal welfare only once every few years, or even less often. The European Court of Auditors concluded in 2018 that EU animal welfare rules are not always properly enforced.

4. The sector and science

The mentality of farmers

Many farmers do not think their animals have a bad life: they get food and water on time, don't they? That this mainly serves to make them ready for slaughter as quickly as possible, they no longer see. A change in thinking is hardly to be expected. It is more effective to reward responsible farming on economic grounds, with gentle but clear pressure.

Little ethical awareness in science

Because of funding from industry, researchers often choose short-term goals. Too little is done to find alternatives to animal testing. Dairy is "functionally enriched", while making plant-based food tastier and more nutritious would solve far more problems.

Half-hearted improvements

Small improvements in housing are widely publicised in marketing, but often apply to only a small share of the animals. The public and animal welfare organisations like to believe that improvements must come in small steps. Big changes require a change in behaviour. That is difficult.

A movement of volunteers

The number of paid people working against factory farming is tiny compared with the many thousands who promote animal products. And the animal rights movement is not always as effective as it could be.