Year: 2007
Type: article
Abstract: The demand for animal products and services is a powerful economic force in society, and multibillion-dollar industries are organized around this demand. These industries often face increased costs by improving animal welfare and are quick to use economic arguments against proposed welfare reforms (see sidebar on page 169). These arguments, while often specious, can influence consumers, voters, and policy makers. Citizens are less likely to support animal welfare reforms they’ve been told will double their shopping bill or impoverish family farmers.\nAnimal welfare advocates cannot respond to these economic arguments with moral rhetoric alone. Instead, non-governmental observers (NGOs) must challenge the economic assumptions, calculations, and conclusions of animal industries and produce reliable economic arguments of their own. To do so they should understand some basic economic principles, which we review below, and, when possible, enlist the help of economists.
Source: WBI Studies Repository
Authors: Jennifer Fearing, Gaverick Matheny
Language: English
Topic: Animal Law and Welfare
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W65859400