The Regulation of Animal Welfare in Food Production
Author
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
The Regulation of Animal Welfare in Food Production (2005 Third Year Paper)Abstract
This paper surveys the various ways in which we choose to regulate, or could choose to regulate, the treatment of animals in food production. “Regulation†is broadly defined to encompass any systematic initiatives, public or private, that aim to affect the treatment of farmed animals. After offering a brief survey of the husbandry practices common in modern agriculture, and presenting evidence that our current system is too dependant on free-market principles, this paper goes on to consider several methods of regulating this sector: the regulation of advertising, the regulation of product labeling, the enactment of general welfare standards, and specific-practice legislation. For each of these categories, both current and potential regulatory initiatives are considered, and some analysis of the costs and benefits of each alternative approach is offered. I conclude that an absence of consumer deception regarding the treatment of the animals used to produce their food products should provide a baseline standard for regulation, although possibilities for regulation moving significantly beyond this baseline are considered.Terms of Use
This article is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of-use#LAACitable link to this page
http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:8889490
Collections
- HLS Student Papers [593]
Contact administrator regarding this item (to report mistakes or request changes)