Altruism, Numbers, and Factory Farms

Abstract

Factory farming causes immense suffering to a vast number of animals. Intensive confinement leads to psychological distress, including boredom, frustration, and depression, as well as physical ailments. Many animals experience painful deaths due to health complications arising from selective breeding and poor living conditions. Routine procedures like debeaking and castration are often performed without anesthesia. Further suffering occurs during slaughter, with overcrowded transport and unreliable stunning methods. While the scale of suffering in factory farming surpasses other forms of animal abuse, it remains a neglected area of animal welfare philanthropy. Effective altruism frameworks suggest prioritizing interventions based on scale, tractability, and neglectedness, indicating that reducing suffering in factory farming should be a high priority. The act-omission distinction, often used to justify inaction, does not diminish the moral responsibility to prevent suffering. Therefore, supporting efforts to end factory farming should be considered a moral imperative. – AI-generated abstract.