How ‘Welfare’ and ‘Sustainability’ May Work Together Against Pigs
Summary By: karol orzechowski | Original Study By: Antonio Velarde, Emma Fàbrega, Isabel Blanco-Penedo, Antoni Dalmau | Published: June 11, 2015
Estimated Reading Time: < 1 minute
Making small welfare improvements may increase "sustainability" of production, but they may not make things better for pigs overall.
This article examines how increasing the “welfare” of farmed pigs at various levels of production can also help to increase “sustainability” as well. Written from a clearly pro-industry perspective, it looks at everything from housing to slaughter, and describes how small welfare improvements can increase “productivity” and “efficiency from a cost of production perspective.” This article would be especially useful to advocates of veganism who wish to show how some welfare improvements might work against pigs in a broader sense.

Meet the Author: karol orzechowski
karol orzechowski is a longtime animal advocate with a passion for advocacy, art, statistics, and tech. In addition to producing numerous short films on various animal issues, karol is the director of Maximum Tolerated Dose, a feature-length documentary about the psychological toll of vivisection on both animals and humans. He completed a Bachelor of Environmental Studies and an MA in Communications and Culture at York University, writing theses on nationalism and the Atlantic seal hunt, and Canadian rodeo culture, respectively. When he's not working for Faunalytics, karol is the Board Chair of a non-profit independent news publication in his hometown. Outside of work, karol is often reading about computer hacking and infosec, organizing and performing at events in his local arts scene, or walking with Raoul the rescue dog.
Citations:
Velarde, A., Fàbrega, E., Blanco-Penedo, I., & Dalmau, A. (2015). Animal Welfare Towards Sustainability in Pork Production. Meat Science. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2015.05.01