Factory farming

What is the problem?

50 billion animals are raised and slaughtered in factory farms around the world each year, around 10 billion of these in the USA. Most experience extreme levels of suffering over the course of their lives due to their poor treatment. Relatively small improvements to their treatment could substantially improve their welfare.

Why is this problem pressing?

What is our recommendation based on?

We think this problem is pressing because it is a focus area of The Open Philanthropy Project. Read their report on the treatment of animals in factory farms and animal product alternatives.

We interviewed their Program Officer for farm animal welfare at length. That interview covers everything below and a lot more about how to end factory farming rapidly. We also spoke with the founders of Animal Equality about their interventions.

Why is it pressing?

• 50 billion animals are raised and killed in factory farms every year. Most experience extreme levels of suffering over the course of their lives due to intense confinement and the removal of body parts. The meat industry is also one of the largest contributors to climate change, with 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• This problem gets relatively little attention, even from major animal welfare groups. Less than $20 million is spent by non-profits on improving conditions of factory farmed animals or reducing meat consumption.
• There appear to be effective ways to persuade people to reduce their meat consumption or become vegetarian or vegan. Some research has suggested individual outreach on campuses has an effect, though it hasn’t yet allowed precise measurements. Developing better meat substitutes could also drive down meat consumption considerably. In the EU there has been some success changing regulations to improve conditions in factory farms, such as allowing each animal more space.

What are the major arguments against it being pressing?

• You might think that the well-being of each animal matters much less than the suffering of each human (less than 1% as much), and so think the scale isn’t as large as other problems.
• You might think that the long-run benefits of improving animal welfare are significantly smaller than the long-run benefits of improving the welfare of humans. This is because increasing the well-being of humans lets them contribute more to the economic development of their society, but there is no obvious mechanism by which increasing animal welfare leads to comparable long-run benefits. Read more on this argument.

Key judgement calls made to prioritise this problem

• Animals in factory farms experience real and intense suffering.
• If faced with a situation where you can prevent cruelty to a large number of non-human animals, or the suffering of a much smaller number of humans, you should help the animals. There are two possible justifications for this view: i) in the short run you’re preventing more suffering, and you don’t care so much about the long-run effects, or ii) you think there are long-run positive effects to campaigning against cruelty to animals, for example via increasing human empathy and improving society’s values.

What can you do about this problem?

What’s most needed to contribute to this problem?

• Social advocacy to reduce meat consumption. This can be done by distributing leaflets, TV and online ads, campaigning large institutions (such as school districts or hospitals) to adopt “Meatless Mondays” to reduce meat consumption, and investigations that expose and publicise cruelty to animals in factory farms.
• Political advocacy and lobbying for legislation for better conditions in factory farms.
• Developing plant-based alternatives to animal-based foods.
• Research to determine the most effective social and political advocacy methods for persuading people to reduce their meat consumption and passing legislation to improve conditions in factory farms.

What skill sets and resources are most needed?

• People with strong leadership and fundraising skills to work in animal advocacy non-profits.
• People with high earning potential who can donate to animal advocacy work. Jon Bockman of Animal Charity Evaluators, told us that animal advocacy non-profits have lots of enthusiastic volunteers but not enough funds to hire them, meaning that funding is the greater bottleneck in this problem area (unless you have the potential to be a leader and innovator in the movement). This would make the problem unusually funding-constrained.
• Entrepreneurs and researchers working on developing and marketing meat substitutes.

Who is working on this problem?

• See this list of organizations collated by the Open Philanthropy Project.
• Animal Charity Evaluators find and promote the most effective ways to help animals. See their list of top and standout charities working in the area.

What can you concretely do to help?

• Work at the charities recommended by Animal Charity Evaluators.
• Take a high-earning job, and donate to the charities recommended by Animal Charity Evaluators.
• Work at Animal Charity Evaluators.
• Work at companies developing plant-based alternatives to animal-based foods (such as Just and Beyond Meat).
• If you have a public platform, for example as an academic, journalist or politician, promote and advocate for reduced meat consumption and improvement of conditions of factory farms.
• Volunteer for organizations working on the problem. See Animal Charity Evaluators advice on volunteering.
• Become vegetarian or vegan, and promote reducing meat consumption to your friends and colleagues.
• Many more suggestions.

Further reading

• Podcast: How to end factory farming as soon as possible.
• Podcast: Going undercover to expose animal cruelty, get rabbit cages banned and reduce meat consumption.
• Podcast: Bruce Friedrich makes the case that inventing outstanding meat replacements is the most effective way to help animals
• Podcast: How exactly clean meat is created & the advances needed to get it into every supermarket, according to food scientist Marie Gibbons
• The Open Philanthropy Project’s report on the treatment of animals in factory farms.
• Number of animals vs. amount of donations – Animal Charity Evaluators.
• How to make an impact in animal advocacy, a survey.
• Another potential approach to reducing factory farming is to become a specialist about to work with people in China on animal welfare reforms there.