Animal Agriculture and Welfare Footprints

Abstract

SynonymsAgriculture; Animal rights; Animal welfare; Consumerethics; Food ethics; Labor rights; Meat; Omnivorism;VegetarianismIntroductionAgriculture and wild food harvestingimpact the welfare of humans and other animals in many ways. Thetotal impact on welfare varies according to the foodstuffs inquestion as well as the methods of production or harvestingused. Just as different lifestyles have different sized carbonfootprints, different diets have different sized welfarefootprints or total negative consequences to the welfare ofsentient humans and nonhuman animals. Because every diet has awelfare footprint, the salient questions concern the size andmoral salience of welfare footprints. This entry surveys theconnections between human dietary choices, agriculture and otherforms of food procurement, and welfare footprints, particularlyas they pertain to nonhuman animals.The Concept of a WelfareFootprintIn an increasingly globalized, industrialized, andurbanized world, many ...