"[...]
[Animal] Welfare impacts are also routinely excluded from food system models that evaluate trade-offs between nutrition and natural-resource use, and are rarely considered in discussions around protein provisioning - even though much of the global supply of animal-based foods is produced through intensive systems that involve practices associated with severe and prolonged suffering. In food policy, economic efficiency and environmental sustainability are often emphasized, while the lived experiences of the animals involved typically remain unmeasured and unaccounted for.
[...]
The Welfare Footprint Framework addresses this gap, revealing that adopting slower-growing breeds can prevent at least 15–100 hours of intense pain in chickens at an estimated cost of US$1 per kilogram of meat, or US$0.00003–0.00005 for each hour using carbon externality pricing.
[...]"
Reference:
Cynthia Schuck-Paim, Wladimir J Alonso, Cleo Verkuijl, Margaret Hegwood, Kate Hartcher: The Welfare Footprint Framework can help balance animal welfare with other food system priorities. Nat Food . 2025 Aug;6(8):737-739. PMID: 40825867 DOI: 10.1038/s43016-025-01213-z