Feed: a food systems podcast · TABLEdebates.org

Animal welfare and ethics (with Tamsin Blaxter)

·49 min·4 clips

Tamsin reveals how factory farming made chicken a staple but caused immense suffering for billions of animals.

This episode of Feed explores animal welfare and ethics in food systems with researcher Tamsin Blaxter. Host Matthew Kessler and Blaxter examine how different worldviews lead to conflicting visions for the future of food. Philosophers, animal welfare scientists, and farmers each approach the topic with distinct priorities and forms of knowledge. The conversation analyzes three specific actions using a framework from Blaxter's explainer. The first is intensifying poultry production to lower food costs, a system that made chicken a global staple but confines billions of animals. The second action is switching from beef cattle to fish from sustainable fisheries, which reduces land use and carbon emissions but may increase the number of painful animal deaths. The third example discusses open rescue tactics by animal rights groups, which prioritize relieving animal suffering but conflict with property rights and laws. Blaxter outlines different ethical perspectives, including anthropocentric, sentientist, and biocentric views, which assign moral value differently. She notes that over 70 billion chickens are slaughtered annually, with about 25 billion living in these systems at any moment. The discussion highlights how the same action can be seen as a moral good or disaster depending on which beings are considered morally relevant. Scientific methods for assessing animal sentience and welfare are examined, including experiments with painkillers and tests for optimism or pessimism in animals. Research indicates fish can feel pain, and bumblebees demonstrate capabilities like play and social learning. An example is given of a rat trained to drive a remote-control car, suggesting sophisticated animal cognition. Regulatory differences between countries are cited, such as bans on farrowing crates for sows in Sweden and Switzerland. The UK legally recognizes decapods as sentient beings. Blaxter notes that personal contact with animals, especially having a pet as a child, statistically makes one more sympathetic to animal interests and more likely to be vegetarian. Effectiveness of advocacy arguments varies by cultural context, with some research in Germany suggesting animal ethics arguments can be more persuasive than environmental ones. Blaxter shares her personal dietary evolution from eating meat to veganism, influenced by moral reasoning and experiences. She and Kessler agree that views on this topic are deeply held and slow to change, shaped heavily by one's cultural and geographical upbringing. The tone is educational and conversational, structured around examining contrasting perspectives. The style is analytical, using specific examples and research to explore ethical dilemmas without advocating a single position. Listeners interested in food policy, moral philosophy, or animal science will find this episode engaging. Those seeking definitive answers or activist rhetoric might find its nuanced approach less satisfying.

As heard by us

A careful, unsettling map of how animal ethics shapes food futures.

The episode treats animal welfare as a live argument about how people sort the world: what counts as human, what counts as animal, and which values shape food futures.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Hear how animal welfare becomes a debate about ethics, science, farming, and food futures.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Feed: a food systems podcast