Consumers

Goal 
Cheap plentiful meat to eat with a clear conscience!

strengths

Voting power - purchasing power - complaining power 

Possible weaknesses
insensitivity to needs & problems of farmers

• inexperience of farm animals & farm economics
• little time & inclination for purchase discrimination
• easily mislead by marketing
• easily mislead by media
• emotional reactions & ideologies may obscure economic & practical realities    

Opportunities
willingness to pay more for high wefare meat!

• to become more discriminating when buying & voting
• to relate to farmers & work constructively with them
• to come to terms more with worldly realities of suffering & death

Dangers faced  
hypocrisy: supporting high welfare but buying cheap low welfare meat

• confusion & chaos from conflicting information & views
• demanding the impossible from farmers & food industry    

Farm Animals

Goal 

• to live!
• to express natural behaviour & instincts
• to suffer no more than necessary e.g. what humans experience

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strengths

• entertaining & interesting unique life-forms
• vulnerability & innocence attracts compassion & caring
• nutritious & tasty to eat 
  

Possible weaknesses

• vulnerability to abuse & exploitation
• limited means of communication & no linguistic or literary skills
• projected onto by people not taking responsibilty for their inner emotions & issues    

Opportunities
to get better care by people meeting our needs as well as their own!   

Dangers faced  
spread of vegetarianism may deny us life a lifestyle determined by ignorant, impoverished, insensitive or unhappy people    

Farmers

Goal 

• enjoy an occupation of raising livestock
• provide material security for self & family
• be independent - avoid outside crticism & interference

strengths

• practical experience of livestock needs 
• practical experience of economic realities
  

Possible weaknesses

• financial desperation: low margins over costs
• insensitivity to ethical needs of consumers
• insensitivity to welfare needs of livestock
• rejecting concerns of welfarists (= customers or speak to customers)

Opportunities

• communicate their situation more effectively to consumers
  
• realise benefits of compassionate & sensitive relationship with livestock
• be more proactive & less (defensively) reactive on welfare
• to dialogue & work with welfarists rather than condemn them

Dangers faced  

• increased costs of high welfare farming
  
• insensitivity to animal suffering: "familiarity breeds contempt"
• reduced income from alienating consumers
• competition from global trade
• time & paperwork of government & QA welfare measures
• bitterness, bancruptcy, depression & suicide

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