Animal welfare and society concerns finding the missing link

Temple Grandin

doi:10.1016/j.meatsci.2014.05.011

Animal welfare and society concerns finding the missing link

Meat Sci. 2014 Nov;98(3):461-9. doi: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2014.05.011. Epub 2014 May 24.

Author

Temple Grandin¹

Affiliation

¹ Dept. of Animal Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. Electronic address: cheryl.miller@colostate.edu.

PMID: 24928166
DOI: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2014.05.011

Abstract

Young adults in developed countries are distanced from agriculture and the meat industry needs to do a better job of communicating with them. A major welfare concern is slaughter without stunning. Other concerns, such as poor stunning or high levels of bruising, can be easily corrected by management who is committed to maintaining high standards. Another concern is biological system overload, occurring when animals are bred for more productivity. Researchers and industry need to determine optimum production levels instead of maximums. Retailers are major drivers of animal welfare standards enforcement and they respond to pressure from both activists and consumers.

Keywords: Animal welfare; Cattle; Meloxicam (PubChem CID: 54677470); Pigs; Ractopamine (PubChem CID: 14010333); Sheep; Slaughter; Welfare auditing; Zilpaterol (PubChem CID: C10 11507658).

MeSH terms

Abattoirs*
Animal Husbandry*
Animal Welfare*
Animals
Attitude*
Diet*
Food Industry*
Humans
Meat*