Leave No One Behind, Not Even the Animals

Abstract

The sustainability agenda is a modern-day exercise in global ethics. Why then is animal welfare an absent policy within the ethical framework? Why do we continue to see farm animals only as food-related commodities? In this chapter, these issues are explored using case studies to support the emotional complexities of animals as well as the recent legal developments in animal personhood rights. The purpose of this chapter is to establish a logical and ethical argument to push the animal welfare agenda forward within the sustainable development conversation and provide a useful tool for future policy frameworks. This chapter is comprised of a comparative research methodology with the objectives to analyze, compare and contrast secondary research, and use case studies to establish an argument for the inclusion of animal welfare as an independent thread of human rights and provide implications for new meat alternatives together with recommendations for government and policymakers.