This cause area focuses on interventions that reduce the most animal suffering as cost-effectively as possible. Within the three-factor cause prioritization framework, we find that the biggest source of human caused suffering is through factory farming. An estimated 70 billion land animals and between 37 to 120 billion fish are farmed and slaughtered for food annually. The majority of these animals experience intense suffering during their lives and nearly all suffer needlessly cruel deaths.
As with poverty alleviation, improving animal welfare is complex and can be approached both directly and indirectly. Some promising campaigns focus on: corporate lobbying, i.e. encouraging animal industries to raise their welfare standards; public outreach aimed at encouraging people to reduce consumption of animal productions; and alternative meat products such as plant-based meat and cultured/clean meat.
We recommend the Good Food Institute and the Humane Slaughter Association because of their dedication to reducing the worst forms of animal suffering through research, advocacy, and outreach.