Slow Food has been actively working to promote a holistic approach to food and agriculture for many years and good animal welfare practices are a fundamental part of this. They are important not only because they respect animals as sentient beings, but also because they benefit farmers, consumers and the environment.
Slow Food believes that animals used for food should be given a life free of pain and fear in which they are free to express their natural behaviors.
Each year the welfare of billions of animals raised for their meat, milk and eggs for human consumption is seriously compromised. Animal farming throughout the world has become increasingly intensive, where maximum production and profits are prioritized, and animals are treated as commodities.
As the consumption of animal products continues to increase, it has become necessary to confront these problems in order to safeguard the health of citizens and the environment, and guarantee that small-scale farmers can thrive in their activities while ensuring that the welfare of animals is respected.
Animals are sentient beings – they can suffer pain and distress or be happy and enjoy life. We therefore have a responsibility to ensure they are kept in humane farming systems, allowed to live a life free from pain and mental distress and able to express their natural behaviors, and are slaughtered humanely.
Slow Food believes that the way we treat farm animals is intricately linked to our general wellbeing and that of the planet.
Animal welfare is of crucial importance to the approximately 1 billion people (FAO) that depend on animals as a source of income and food: A secure supply of food depends on the health and productivity of animals, which in turn depend on the care and nutrition these animals receive.
- Factory farms reduce animals to mere machines, subject to confinement and mutilations. These conditions make animals more prone to diseases and as a result, they are routinely injected with vaccines and antibiotics. This extensive use of antibiotics poses a risk to those who consume their meat and contributes to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria: a growing public health concern.
Making animal welfare a priority is an added value for both small- and large-scale farmers. Providing good living conditions for animals results in better health and less stress for the animals, and subsequently fewer diseases and a reduced use of drugs, lower production costs and improved product quality in terms of both taste and nutrition.
Animals pay a harsh price in the current system. Factory farms reduce animals to mere machines and commodities. They are packed into tight cages or confined to small spaces where they spend a short but painful life. During this time they are often subjected to mutilations, their beaks are trimmed, tails docked and horns removed in order to avoid injuring themselves or their companions due to the stresses of being condemned to a life less than natural. After having spent the entirety of their lives in these conditions, they are then transported to slaughterhouses, often travelling for many hours at a time and in gruelling conditions. They feel the stresses and strains of not being able to express their natural behaviours, often left in the hands of people who have not received adequate training, denying them the compassionate and respectful treatment that a sentient being deserves. Living in these conditions makes animals more prone to diseases. In many intensive farms they are therefore routinely injected with vaccines and antibiotics, posing a risk to those who consume their meat.
In recent years, meat consumption has not only remained high in America and Europe, but has consistently grown in China, India and generally within those countries where a wealthy new middle class is emerging alongside a strong demographic increase (the Indian population, for instance, has grown by 200 million inhabitants every 10 years). A global surge in the demand for meat has resulted in a corresponding growth of the industrial production of meat and, subsequently, the concentration of power in the hands of the few large companies that can satisfy the market's demand. The transformation of the animal livestock industry and the production of meat have a long list of negative effects on the environment, human health, animal welfare and social justice.
The animals that we raise for food in turn need to be nourished to grow and produce, but the dietary resources they consume are significantly higher than those they produce in the form of meat, milk and eggs.
We must also recognise an overall increase in awareness regarding our treatment of animals, which has resulted in the adoption of lifestyles that increasingly abandon or limit the consumption of animal products and a rise in stricter animal welfare laws.
Many eminent voices from a range of areas have been working to promote the responsible consumption of meat, by choosing a high quality product and limiting the average intake. Slow Food believes that promoting a strong animal welfare ethic encourages the consumer to eat less meat because it reduces the amount of meat produced and supports those who raise their animals according to the highest standards.
Every time you shop, remember that your individual choices can influence the positive change of the global food production system. When it comes to meat, you can really leave your mark.
Slow Food International