Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
4
Animal Welfare: An Integral
Component of Sustainability
C.B. Tucker,
1
* J.A. Mench
1
and M.A.G. von Keyserlingk
2
1
Department of Animal Science and Center for Animal Welfare,
University of California, Davis, California, USA;
2
Animal Welfare Program,
University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Canada
Introduction
play a role in this concept (Thompson, 1997,
2007). Environmental concerns are often what
first come to mind when discussing sustain-
ability, as evidenced by the considerable empha-
sis in this topic (see Chapters 7, 9, 10, 11 and 12).
Economic concerns, for example costs of pro-
ducing and purchasing food-animal products,
have been and will continue to play a key role in
discussions on sustainability of animal agricul-
ture (see Chapter 13, this volume). Social issues
considered in the sustainability of animal agri-
culture are very broad, but include social justice,
poverty and ethical consumerism (Croney and
Anthony, 2011; Driessen, 2012). It is, however,
important to note that social issues are not lim-
ited to the 'social' component in definitions of
sustainability. Many of the concerns about the
environment and economics of food production
are rooted in public acceptability. In this way,
public acceptability is of importance to all
aspects of sustainable food production.
Animal welfare has emerged as one of the
key public concerns regarding animal agri-
culture and clearly affects the sustainability
of these production systems (Thompson
et al
.,
2011). Indeed, the public perception and accept-
ability of farm animal welfare issues can, as we
illustrate below, determine if specific husbandry
practices and housing conditions are allowed to
There has been a tremendous increase in the
consumption of animal products over the past
four decades (Steinfeld
et al
., 2006). It is predicted
that this increase will continue, particularly as
per capita income increases, with the greatest
projected growth in developing countries (FAO,
2006; Steinfeld
et al
., 2006; Thornton, 2010).
Concurrent with increased demand for food ani-
mal products, the developed world has experi-
enced intensification of agricultural production
over the last half century (Steinfeld
et al
., 2006).
This intensification has resulted in polarized
positions taken by both critics and defenders of
the many issues associated with food-animal
production systems (e.g. food availability, food
quality, rural populations, use of resources, bio-
diversity and animal welfare; Fraser, 2008a;
Croney and Anthony, 2011; Croney
et al
., 2012).
Given these debates and the projected increase in
the world's human population, combined with
pressure for food costs to remain low, it is not sur-
prising that an increasing number of questions
are being raised concerning the sustainability of
the world's food-animal agricultural resources.
Although there are many definitions of sus-
tainability, it is generally accepted that environ-
mental, social and economic considerations all
