This landmark new text charts the latest developments in economic research relevant to farm animal welfare. A range of global experts and key opinion leaders outline the challenges in achieving sustainable livestock production while improving farm profit, climate change and animal welfare, and make policy-relevant recommendations for the future. This is a theoretical yet practical book that examines: - the origins of farm animal welfare, cross-disciplinary interactions and the future of the field; - consumer demand and changing preferences as animal welfare rises up the social agenda; - the impact political organisations such as the EU and WTO have on animal welfare. An important resource for policy makers and animal welfare scientists, economists and clinicians, this book provides a thought-provoking yet evidence-based review for all those interested in quantifying and improving farm animal welfare.

Agriculture is the product of a complex mixture of behavioural, biophysical and market drivers. Understanding how these factors interact to produce crops and livestock for food has been the focus of economic investigation for many years. The advent of optimisation algorithms and the exponential growth in computing technology has allowed significant growth in mathematical modelling of the dynamics of agricultural systems. The complexity of approaches has grown in parallel with the availability of data at increasingly finer resolutions. Farm-level models have been widely used in agricultural economic studies to understand how farmers and land owners respond to market and policy levers. This book provides an in-depth description of different methodologies and techniques currently used in farm-level modelling. While giving an overview of the theoretical grounding behind the models, an applied approach is also used. Case studies range from the application of modelling to policy reforms and the subsequent impacts on rural communities and food supply. This book also provides descriptions of the use of farm-level models in much wider fields such as aggregation and linking with sectoral models. Its purpose is to show the reader the methods that have been employed to inform decision-makers about how to improve the economic, social and environmental goals required to achieve the aims of multidimensional policy.