21. Implications for animal welfare of food system changes towards circular agriculture

Dutch agriculture has become highly efficient and productive, but this has come at a cost. The quality of values, such as biodiversity, soil, air, water and nature has been compromised. Climate change and resource scarcity further complicate this situation and require farmers to reassess their production methods. A transition to circular agriculture seems a promising answer to these issues: closing cycles of nutrients and other resources in order to minimize losses and to end the impact on climate change. However, circular agriculture does not only answer questions, it raises also new ones. One set of questions focuses on animals and their health and welfare. On the one hand, current forms of livestock farming contribute to climate change and loss of biodiversity and, therefore, are part of the reason to find more sustainable forms of agriculture. On the other hand, animals can play an important role in circular agriculture by converting biomass that humans are unable or unwilling to eat and so helping to close circles. Although the role animals can play is not ignored, the animal welfare dimensions of circular agriculture seem to be a blind spot. In this paper we argue that this is a problem for both the success of circular agriculture and for the animals involved. To elaborate on this claim we analyse the background of the lack of attention. We claim that the lack of attention in the current discussion is embedded in the concept of animal welfare itself, in the current legal and economic possibilities and in the way circular agriculture is framed. Finally we present some steps that contribute to an animal welfare inclusive approach of circular agriculture.