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Commodifying animal welfare

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

H Buller  and
E Roe
H Buller*
Affiliation:
College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Geography, University of Exeter, Amory Building, Rennes Drive, Exeter EX4 4RJ, UK
E Roe
Affiliation:
Department of Geography and Environment, Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, University of Southampton, Shackleton Building 44, University Road, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: [email protected]
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Abstract

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As the profile of farm animal welfare rises within food production chains, in response both to consumer demand and greater ethical engagement with the lives of animals, animal welfare is increasingly being commodified by various foodchain actors. That is to say that, over and above regulatory or assurance scheme compliance, welfare conditions and criteria are being used as a ‘value-added’ component or distinctive selling point for food products, brands or even particular manufacturers and retailers. We argue in this paper that such a commodification process has major implications both for the way in which farm animal welfare is defined and assessed (with greater emphasis being placed either on those welfare elements that lend themselves to commodification processes or on those that respond to consumer interpretations of what ‘good’ welfare might be at a particular time) and for the ways in which farm animal welfare is articulated and presented to food consumers as a component of product value or quality.

Keywords

animal welfarecommodificationconsumptionfree-range eggsmarketwelfare assessment
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 21 , Issue S1: Proceedings of the UFAW International Symposium ‘Making animal improvements: Economic and other incentives and constraints’ Historic Dockyard, Portsmouth, UK, 2011 , May 2012 , pp. 131 - 135
Copyright
© 2012 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

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