A great post, Lewis! When looking at the vast quantity of farmed animal suffering, it's all too easy to get depressed, so it's very important to look at the real progress that is being made.
I do have one suggestion, though, relating to the progress in moving from cages to aviaries for egg-laying hens. Your statistics about the percentage of hens still in cages don't differentiate between the much larger, furnished cages that have been required by law for more than a decade in the entire European Union and the UK, and the conventional battery cages that are the dominant form of cage in the US and many other countries. As the Welfare Footprint Project study that you cite shows, it is much more important to get hens out of cages in countries that still permit conventional battery cages than it is to do so in countries that require caged hens to be in furninshed cages. In fact, that study shows that the shift from furnished cages to aviary actually slightly increases the amount of time that hens are experiencing the most severe level of pain - excruciating pain - and makes no difference to the amount of time that hens are in disabling pain, the second most severe level. The advantages of the aviary system are clearcut in the other, less severe levels of pain - hurtful and annoying pain - but of course it is a matter of judgment whether a large reduction in these lower levels of pain and a small increase in the higher levels of pain makes for a better or a worse life for hens.
I suggest that this means that it is more effective to put resources into ending cages in countries like the US and China, where all or virtually all caged hens are in conventional battery cages, than into ending cages for laying hens in Europe.
Thanks Peter! You've of course inspired so many of the advocates and funders who have achieved this progress -- as well as contributing directly to it yourself.
You're absolutely right that we should differentiate between battery and enriched cages, and prioritize getting hens out of the former. The challenge is always the tradeoff between importance and tractability. It's certainly more important per hen to remove cages in Asia and the Americas, but it's largely proven more tractable to do so in Europe.
I also hope that progress in Europe can inspire progress elsewhere. For instance, we've seen European-based multinationals, like Carrefour and Accor, drive cage-free progress through their subsidiaries and operations in Latin America and Asia.
Still, I agree that the most important goal is to end the use of conventional battery cages, and that to do that we should mostly focus on Asia and the Americas.
In respect to #9 and commitments to use electrical stunning, I would be grateful if, at some point, you could share with us your thoughts on the implications of research that increasingly calls into question the efficacy of such stunning, as commonly practiced. While I've heard bits and pieces via fair-fish.net, FishEthoGroup, Eurogroup... I've not yet seen a coherent analysis, and you explain matters so clearly.
Thanks Stephen! You're right that there has been some concerning recent research on the efficacy of electrical stunning as practiced, especially with certain fish species. We'll likely fund more work into this question this year, as well as into the viability of alternatives like percussive stunning.
My current best sense is that electrical stunning is probably quite a bit better than nothing, both because it effectively stuns many fish and because for the others it may render them less conscious of pain. But I could be wrong. And it's a very important question for the the billions of fish affected. So we'll be researching this more, and I'll share when we have a clearer answer.
Beautiful and uplifting. I’m inspired by the dedication of our movement and the signs that society wants to move in a more compassionate direction for animals. Thank you for sharing.
Some good news, I guess! It would be great to see progress on the free range eggs market in China and India, considering how dominant they are in the global market. Maybe there are already some improvements going on there but, in any case, it would have a huge impact.
Yes there are some improvements already going on in with respect to free range eggs in both China and India. In China, a number of major egg producers are introducing cage-free lines, while free-range producers seem to be growing. And in India, there's a new association promoting the interests of cage-free and free-range egg producers. In both markets there is increased demand for cage-free eggs due to the implementation of multinationals' global cage-free policies
This brought much needed relief and inspiration. Thank you to each and every person out there fighting for animals who are completely at the mercy of human cruelty. Thank you for giving us hope for a more compassionate world.
"they were all achieved by a small group of advocates operating with less funding than Harvard spent renovating a single residential house." - What exactly has operated with less funding than the renovation? All animal advocacy in 2024? Or just the 10 you listed out here? Is it compared to the world or just the UK or US or? I want to quote this and credit you, but I want to make sure I'm understand what the comparison is. Thanks!
Thanks Josh. Yes, all advocacy for farmed animals globally (including for alt proteins) in 2024 had a combined budget of $300-350M. Whereas Harvard appears to be spending at least $300M and possibly "more than" $600M per house it renovates (the article is a bit unclear on the exact amounts). Hope that helps!
A great post, Lewis! When looking at the vast quantity of farmed animal suffering, it's all too easy to get depressed, so it's very important to look at the real progress that is being made.
I do have one suggestion, though, relating to the progress in moving from cages to aviaries for egg-laying hens. Your statistics about the percentage of hens still in cages don't differentiate between the much larger, furnished cages that have been required by law for more than a decade in the entire European Union and the UK, and the conventional battery cages that are the dominant form of cage in the US and many other countries. As the Welfare Footprint Project study that you cite shows, it is much more important to get hens out of cages in countries that still permit conventional battery cages than it is to do so in countries that require caged hens to be in furninshed cages. In fact, that study shows that the shift from furnished cages to aviary actually slightly increases the amount of time that hens are experiencing the most severe level of pain - excruciating pain - and makes no difference to the amount of time that hens are in disabling pain, the second most severe level. The advantages of the aviary system are clearcut in the other, less severe levels of pain - hurtful and annoying pain - but of course it is a matter of judgment whether a large reduction in these lower levels of pain and a small increase in the higher levels of pain makes for a better or a worse life for hens.
I suggest that this means that it is more effective to put resources into ending cages in countries like the US and China, where all or virtually all caged hens are in conventional battery cages, than into ending cages for laying hens in Europe.
Thanks Peter! You've of course inspired so many of the advocates and funders who have achieved this progress -- as well as contributing directly to it yourself.
You're absolutely right that we should differentiate between battery and enriched cages, and prioritize getting hens out of the former. The challenge is always the tradeoff between importance and tractability. It's certainly more important per hen to remove cages in Asia and the Americas, but it's largely proven more tractable to do so in Europe.
I also hope that progress in Europe can inspire progress elsewhere. For instance, we've seen European-based multinationals, like Carrefour and Accor, drive cage-free progress through their subsidiaries and operations in Latin America and Asia.
Still, I agree that the most important goal is to end the use of conventional battery cages, and that to do that we should mostly focus on Asia and the Americas.
Thank you for this - from someone easily overwhelmed by the sheer scale of animal abuse that passes for food
Indeed an excellent piece... Thanks!
In respect to #9 and commitments to use electrical stunning, I would be grateful if, at some point, you could share with us your thoughts on the implications of research that increasingly calls into question the efficacy of such stunning, as commonly practiced. While I've heard bits and pieces via fair-fish.net, FishEthoGroup, Eurogroup... I've not yet seen a coherent analysis, and you explain matters so clearly.
Thanks Stephen! You're right that there has been some concerning recent research on the efficacy of electrical stunning as practiced, especially with certain fish species. We'll likely fund more work into this question this year, as well as into the viability of alternatives like percussive stunning.
My current best sense is that electrical stunning is probably quite a bit better than nothing, both because it effectively stuns many fish and because for the others it may render them less conscious of pain. But I could be wrong. And it's a very important question for the the billions of fish affected. So we'll be researching this more, and I'll share when we have a clearer answer.
Beautiful and uplifting. I’m inspired by the dedication of our movement and the signs that society wants to move in a more compassionate direction for animals. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for this write up, and to you and your team for painstakingly trying to identify the best interventions and support them.
Thanks Tobias! And thanks for all you're doing! I love your new Substack, which I'll promote in one of my newsletters in the new year.
thanks so much! happy 2025!
Some good news, I guess! It would be great to see progress on the free range eggs market in China and India, considering how dominant they are in the global market. Maybe there are already some improvements going on there but, in any case, it would have a huge impact.
Yes there are some improvements already going on in with respect to free range eggs in both China and India. In China, a number of major egg producers are introducing cage-free lines, while free-range producers seem to be growing. And in India, there's a new association promoting the interests of cage-free and free-range egg producers. In both markets there is increased demand for cage-free eggs due to the implementation of multinationals' global cage-free policies
Great post Lewis
I think this also reaffirms in a way that there is no silver bullet and we need to create an ecosystem. And work with many stakeholders to succeed.
This brought much needed relief and inspiration. Thank you to each and every person out there fighting for animals who are completely at the mercy of human cruelty. Thank you for giving us hope for a more compassionate world.
Here's another big win; we managed to get concern for animal welfare enshrined in the Belgian constitution: https://bobjacobs.substack.com/p/animal-welfare-is-now-enshrined-in
"they were all achieved by a small group of advocates operating with less funding than Harvard spent renovating a single residential house." - What exactly has operated with less funding than the renovation? All animal advocacy in 2024? Or just the 10 you listed out here? Is it compared to the world or just the UK or US or? I want to quote this and credit you, but I want to make sure I'm understand what the comparison is. Thanks!
Thanks Josh. Yes, all advocacy for farmed animals globally (including for alt proteins) in 2024 had a combined budget of $300-350M. Whereas Harvard appears to be spending at least $300M and possibly "more than" $600M per house it renovates (the article is a bit unclear on the exact amounts). Hope that helps!