Ethics of farming and animal value

Start by reflecting on your personal beliefs about animals, farming, and ethics. Think about these questions as part of your research:

How we think about different animals

• Do you believe some animals feel more emotions than others? Why?
• Why do you think people eat some animals but keep others as pets?
• Do you think we should judge how to treat animals based on: 
  • Species?
  • Intelligence?
  • Emotional capacity?
  • Ability to feel pain?
  • Tradition?
  • Something else?

  Farming systems

• What are the key differences for an animal living on a lower-welfare farm, a higher-welfare farm, or in the wild?
• Do you ever think about where animal products come from?
• What sort of future do you hope for farming and farm animals?
   

Use the questions below to interview other people (we suggest a minimum of five people). Write a summary of answers for each question.

• What factors do you think should guide how we treat different animals?
• Do you believe all animals have the same emotional capacity?
• Why do you think some animals are eaten while others are kept as pets?
• What do you see as the main differences between lower-welfare and higher-welfare farms?
• How much do you think about where animal products come from?
• What future would you like to see for farming and farm animals?

Choose one category of animal products, this might be milk and dairy, eggs, chicken, pork, beef or fish. For that category:

• Start by listing any welfare standards or labels you already know.
• Then research the labels you didn’t know or weren’t sure about.
• For each label, write a short explanation of what it means for the animals. (For example: what standards it sets, what it guarantees, and how it affects welfare.)

Hint: Common labels you may come across include RSPCA Assured, Red Tractor, Soil Association (Organic), British Lion Mark, Quality Meat Scotland, Farm Assured Welsh Livestock and Free-range/Outdoor-bred wording.

Reflect and write short notes on your findings:

• Which standards were most familiar to you?
• Did any mean something different from what you expected?
• How easy do you think it is for consumers to understand welfare information?
• Do you think clearer standards or labels would change people’s choices?

Bring together everything you've learned from your own reflections, your interviews, and your welfare-label research. Write a short summary of 200-300 words explaining:

• Which factors you think should guide how we treat different animals
• Why these factors matter
• How they might influence the way people make choices about farming, food, and animal welfare.