A LITTLE CLOSER TO THEIR WORLD
Curious minds.
Lives that matter.
There’s more to these animals than what ends up on a supermarket shelf. Here’s a gentle, honest look at why their everyday lives matter.
🐷Pigs have a lot going on upstairs.
They learn, remember, and solve problems. In a small 2021 study, four pigs learned to use a joystick to move a cursor toward a target for a reward. Their performance showed they could connect their movements with what happened onscreen.
That isn’t a ranking against dogs or children. It’s a lovely reminder that a pig has an active mind, with a need to explore and engage with the world.
Read the pig learning study ↗︎🐄Milk begins with a mother and a calf.
Like other mammals, cows produce milk after giving birth. In conventional dairy production, calves are commonly separated from their mothers early and fed separately, rather than staying together to nurse. The timing and care vary between farms.
Separation, limits on natural suckling, and isolation are welfare concerns. Dairy cows can also experience painful conditions such as mastitis and lameness. Choosing a plant milk is one practical way to step outside that production cycle.
EFSA: calf welfare ↗︎ RSPCA: dairy cow welfare ↗︎🐔Chickens need more than a place to stand.
Hens are motivated to forage, dust-bathe, perch, and find a nest. Cages and crowded housing can restrict these behaviors. Egg production also raises concerns about feather damage and breastbone fractures, including in some cage-free systems.
In egg production, male chicks can be killed shortly after hatching because they cannot lay eggs and the breeds grow too slowly for commercial meat production. Practices vary, and alternatives include identifying sex before hatching.
Chickens bred for meat face a different problem: rapid growth and crowding can make movement harder and contribute to leg and foot problems. Practices differ, but these concerns are why welfare researchers recommend more space and slower growth.
EFSA: laying hens ↗︎ RSPCA: male chicks in egg production ↗︎ EFSA: chickens raised for meat ↗︎