Image credit: Pexels/Kat Smith
Introduction
Of all the animals bred by humans, animals farmed for food are the most numerous. In the U.S. alone, we estimate that the number of land vertebrates farmed for food is thousands of times higher than the number of dogs and cats euthanized in shelters. Despite this large difference, most donations made to animal charities in the U.S. are directed toward companion animal shelters, with less than one percent going to support farmed animal charities. Here, we take a closer look at the most commonly farmed species, how factory farming affects animals, the ethical issues with factory farming, and what you can do to help farmed animals.
What is a farmed animal?
A farmed animal is any animal that is bred, raised, and ultimately killed for food or other agricultural products. This broad category of animals includes vertebrates like chickens, fishes, cows, and pigs, as well as invertebrates like honey bees, silkworms, cochineals, and shrimps.
Why do we call them farmed animals?
Rather than calling them “farm animals” or “livestock,” ACE uses the term “farmed animals” to acknowledge animals’ individual worth and avoid reducing them to their use as commodities. The term “farm animals” implies that those animals exist solely to be farmed, which is untrue. There is no evidence to suggest that farmed animals do not suffer.
Why do we prioritize farmed animals?
We consider farmed animal advocacy a high-priority cause area because of the large scale of animal suffering and its high tractability and neglectedness relative to other cause areas. Among farmed animals, we prioritize farmed fishes and chickens because they are farmed in the highest numbers, making these the most impactful groups to focus on.
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What Animals Are Kept On Farms?
Below are a few of the most commonly farmed animal species that ACE targets in our work.
Chickens
Chickens are among the most abundant farmed animals, outranked only by farmed fishes and certain invertebrates. Estimates of the total number of broiler chickens (i.e., chickens raised for meat) versus egg-laying chickens vary, but our research suggests that broiler chickens account for a larger share of the estimated 79 billion chickens killed annually. (This figure excludes male chicks killed at birth.) When given appropriate space, chickens will forage for food, form nests and roosts, preen their feathers, and socialize with their flock. In contrast, chickens on factory farms live their entire lives in cramped, barren battery cages, with little to no room to turn around or stretch their wings. Though the best long-term outcome for chickens is to stop farming them, a more achievable short-term intervention is to reduce the suffering they experience by eliminating the use of battery cages. Initiatives like the Open Wing Alliance are working to make this a reality by encouraging companies to make cage-free commitments.
Cows
Cows are sensitive, social animals who can not thrive or carry out many of their natural behaviors in the poor, product-driven environments of meat and dairy farms. Although killed in smaller numbers than fishes or chickens, beef and bovine meat have the largest carbon and water footprint of all food products. Commercial beef production also has considerable land use costs and is a key driver of deforestation and biodiversity loss. One unfortunate solution to mitigate land use and deforestation caused by cow farming is to replace pasture with intensive confinement systems; this would undoubtedly increase cow suffering. A more humane solution to ending cow suffering is to reduce demand for beef and dairy products by encouraging plant-based diets and developing food alternatives.
Pigs
About 1.4 billion pigs were slaughtered worldwide in 2016, according to data reported by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Pigs are highly intelligent animals with a deep capacity for emotional connection. In factory farms, they are crammed into barren gestation crates so small that they cannot turn around or extend their limbs. Perhaps worse, pigs on factory farms are denied the ability to form social bonds or showcase their unique personalities. One solution to improve pig welfare that is being pursued is banning the use of stalls and gestation crates.
Ducks and turkeys
FAO data from 2020 and 2016 estimates that about three billion ducks and 6.7 million turkeys are slaughtered annually around the world. China and the European Union are the main producers of ducks, utilizing them for meat, eggs, feathers, and specialty products such as foie gras. Meanwhile, turkeys are mainly farmed in the U.S. for their meat, where they are heavily associated with holiday traditions like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Potential interventions to improve the conditions for ducks and turkeys include advocating for higher-welfare farming practices and promoting alternative products such as plant-based meat and artificial down.
Goats and sheep
According to FAO statistics, about 460 million goats and 550 million sheep were slaughtered worldwide in 2016. These animals are primarily farmed for their meat, milk, and wool, which are used to produce food and textile products. Both goats and sheep spend much of their time on factory farms in tight, restrictive stalls that prevent them from engaging in natural behaviors; farmed goats are unable to climb, run, play, or forage, and farmed sheep are unable to graze, flock, and bond with their herd. Innovations like animal-free meat and dairy products can help reduce demand for goat and sheep farming, along with textile alternatives to wool and cashmere.
Fishes
As detailed in our Farmed Fish Welfare Report, existing research on fish welfare is limited, and the research that has been done tends to focus more on maximizing benefits for farms rather than fishes. While we believe that more research into promising interventions and fish species to prioritize is needed, we still believe that fish welfare should be prioritized within the broader effective animal advocacy movement. This is due to the current neglectedness of farmed fish animal welfare, the potential tractability of interventions to improve farmed fish welfare, and the immense scale of fish farming—more than 100 billion farmed fishes are estimated to be killed for human consumption each year.
Insects
Research on the sentience of insects and other invertebrate species is inconclusive. Data on the number of farmed insects that are killed each year is similarly lacking; however, estimates made in the report “The Scale of Direct Human Impact on Invertebrates” by Abraham Rowe (2020) indicate that many subgroups of farmed insects are more numerous than the total number of farmed vertebrates, with estimates for honey bees and cochineals numbering in the trillions. Due to the massive scale of farmed insects, the neglectedness of their interests, and the likelihood of their potential sentience, we believe pursuing interventions that could improve their welfare is worthwhile.
Shrimps
Unlike other invertebrates, it is more widely accepted that decapod crustaceans (e.g., shrimp, crabs, lobsters) and cephalopod molluscs (e.g., octopus, squid) are sentient creatures. In 2022, the sentience of both animal groups was officially recognized in U.K. law—an extremely promising development for organizations working to improve welfare conditions in aquatic animal farms. One such organization is the Shrimp Welfare Project (a Movement Grant awardee), which pursues interventions to improve welfare standards on shrimp farms.
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How Many Farmed Animals Are There?
We estimate that about 40.5 billion farmed land animals and 125 billion farmed fishes are alive at any time. In comparison, there are only about 1.45 billion dogs and cats total, and around 192.1 million animals used in labs. This means that farmed animals comprise more than 99% of all domesticated animals worldwide. This estimate notably excludes farmed invertebrates, who likely number well into the trillions.
What animal is farmed the most?
Apart from invertebrates, fishes and chickens are the most commonly farmed animal species, representing about 180 billion (roughly 94%) of the 191 billion vertebrates farmed each year. Given the significant number of animals involved, we believe that efforts to improve the welfare of fishes and chickens are particularly promising, and we prioritize interventions that target these groups.
How Does Factory Farming Affect Animals?
Although we cannot fully comprehend the emotions of farmed animals, we can use welfare indicators to gauge the extent of their suffering. For instance, welfare indicators show that certain factory farming methods, such as cage-free hen housing instead of battery cages, provide a better quality of life for animals by enabling them to engage in their natural behaviors. Although no factory farming system is ideal, promoting higher-welfare practices (or better, plant-based diets) can decrease the amount of suffering experienced by farmed animals.
What Are The Ethical Issues With Factory Farming?
Factory farming prioritizes maximizing agricultural output at the expense of animal welfare, environmental impacts, workers’ rights, and risks to human health. Despite some attempts to address these concerns, the industrial agriculture sector resists implementing measures that could increase operating costs or reduce potential sales. The result is an unsustainable industry that perpetuates widespread animal suffering, extensive land and water usage, unsafe labor practices, and pollution from greenhouse gases and industrial waste.
Do animals have feelings?
Animals exhibit many behaviors associated with feelings. They may play, cuddle, fight or hide from perceived threats, form social bonds with humans or other animals, and even problem solve in their environment (e.g., using rocks or sticks as tools). Although humans may not always understand how animals express their emotions, ACE firmly believes moral consideration should be given to all individuals, regardless of species.
How Does Factory Farming Affect Humans?
Factory farming has various implications for human health and welfare. Keeping vast numbers of animals in cramped, often unhygienic conditions increases the likelihood of zoonotic disease transmission (e.g., swine flu, bird flu, and foodborne illnesses), and the large-scale use of antibiotics on factory farms can create antibiotic-resistant bacteria that make human illnesses more difficult to treat. The large quantities of animal waste and pollutants released by factory farms—many of which are located in low-income communities—can contaminate soil, water, and air in surrounding areas. Factory farm employees are at an especially high risk of exposure to harmful pollutants on factory farms. They also face other occupational hazards such as bodily harm from animals or farm equipment, repetitive strain injuries, and psychological trauma from their work’s distressing and physically intensive nature.
Which Laws Protect Farmed Animals?
Laws that protect farmed animals vary significantly among countries and are enforced to different degrees. While the nation-based nature of most legal systems makes it difficult to generalize the global effects of farmed animal welfare laws, available evidence suggests that legal work by animal welfare groups can contribute to changes and modifications in the law, help ensure law enforcement, and motivate cultural shifts in societal attitudes toward animal welfare.
What Can You Do To Help Farmed Animals?
Going vegan is an effective way to avoid contributing to farmed animal suffering—we estimate that an individual spares about 105 vertebrates by eating vegan for just one year. But there’s much more you can do to help farmed animals: Donating to our Recommended Charity Fund, our Movement Grants program, or ACE is an excellent way to improve the lives of farmed animals. To learn more about these giving options, please visit our donation page.
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