It’s time we face an uncomfortable truth: industrial livestock production isn’t just an animal welfare crisis — it’s one of the greatest threats to global health.
A breeding ground for disease
Three out of four emerging infectious diseases in humans originate in animals. While the spotlight has often been on wildlife, industrial livestock systems pose an equal, if not greater, risk. Picture this: thousands of genetically similar animals packed together in cramped, unnatural conditions. Their immune systems are weakened by stress, poor diets, and lack of space. It’s the perfect storm for disease to spread, mutate, and potentially jump species, right to us.
We've already seen warning signs. Swine flu, bird flu, and even COVID-19 are linked in some way to the way humans exploit animals. These aren’t isolated incidents — they’re symptoms of a system spiralling out of control.
Take West Norfolk, for example. A proposed facility there could see more than 6 million chickens and nearly 50,000 pigs killed each year. That's not just a moral issue — it's a public health gamble. Luckily this application was refused by the council following thousands of complaints from the public, but despite this, new factory farms continue to get planning approval nationwide.
A turning point: the Pandemic Treaty
But there is hope. In May 2025, history was made when the World Health Assembly adopted the first-ever legally binding Pandemic Agreement, and for the first time, it recognised the vital link between animal welfare, human health, and the environment.
Among other things, the Agreement addresses gaps, weaknesses and inequities in key areas that were witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic including:
- prevention, preparedness and response arrangements;
- coordinated funding for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response; and
- mechanisms to increase equitable access to pandemic-related health products including vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.”
(World Health Organisation, ‘Pandemic prevention, preparedness and response accord’ 2025. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/pandemic-prevention--preparedness-and-response-accord)
The treaty acknowledges that preventing future pandemics means addressing how we treat animals. It highlights the need for stronger surveillance at the animal-human-environment interface and calls for veterinary and animal welfare expertise to help shape public health responses. This is a seismic shift in global thinking, and it’s long overdue.
FOUR PAWS welcomed this move. It’s a clear sign that the world is waking up to the fact that when animals suffer, we suffer too.
The antibiotics problem
Factory farms don’t just pose a virus risk, they’re also fuelling another silent pandemic: antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Around 70% of the world’s antibiotics are used in livestock farming, often not to treat sick animals, but to stop them from getting sick in the first place, a necessity in such poor conditions. This overuse is driving drug resistance in humans, which the UN warns could kill 10 million people annually by 2050.
It doesn’t have to be this way
The good news? We don’t need to choose between feeding people and protecting the planet. There are better ways forward. Sustainable, higher-welfare farming models already exist. Regenerative agriculture, plant-based innovation, and ethical animal husbandry can help us move away from cruel and risky factory farming systems, if we support them.
The newly signed pandemic treaty gives us the tools. Now governments must act. That means phasing out intensive confinement, supporting farmers to transition to humane systems, and encouraging more conscious consumption.
The question is no longer if industrial livestock production will spark the next pandemic, but when. If we want to prevent the next global crisis, we must end industrial livestock production before it’s too late.
Eating Better’s We need to talk about industrial livestock production defines the processes inherent in this type of intensive factory-style system. If we are to move away from this type of production, we must understand it and choose a better way; choosing more plants, less and better meat and dairy - promoting animal welfare, better public health, increased environmental outcomes and a more just and equitable food system for all.
