The world’s population is expected to reach more than 9 billion by 2050, creating a grand societal challenge: ramping up agricultural productivity to feed the globe. Livestock and poultry products are keys to the world supply of protein, but genetic diversity of livestock is fading. This paper addresses several important challenges regarding the effective protection of remaining genetic diversity.

Many conflicting values and norms in our society related to the use of animals lead to increasing disagreements about what constitutes a “good life” for the animals in our care. Broadly speaking, applied ethicists have discussed two different approaches to this topic—one focuses on the consequences of using animals in particular ways, and the other on the morality of that use, regardless of the consequences.