No-one at the helm: World trade, sustainability and farm animal welfare

In World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations on rules for agricultural trade, issues such as sustainability and farm animal welfare are categorised as "non-trade concerns" and given scant consideration. This is partly because WTO rules mostly specify what is not allowed rather than what is allowed. Yet it is clear that there will be negative effects of trade on sustainability and welfare, and there is almost no other major organisation that can act to reduce those effects either. One important exception may be the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). No organisation is "in charge" of world trade, so there are few mechanisms to make improvements on issues that matter to people in fundamental, ethical and practical ways. However, there is nothing in WTO rules that explicitly prevents countries addressing these issues. We should therefore work with governments to promote sustainability and animal welfare, as concern for these continues to increase worldwide. One way of doing this for farm animal welfare would be to increase emphasis on the OIE welfare standards (so far established on transport and slaughter) and their adoption. It is also encouraging that the European Union continues to make positive statements about improving animal welfare, rather than reversing its protection of farm animals in the face of likely increases in trade.