Againstthebackgroundofthosemorerealisticassumptions,
wecanbepleasedthatdespitetheobstacles,wehavemade
significant progress. We can rightly deplore the fact that
today,fortyyearson,animalsarestillbeingmistreatedona
vast scale,butwe shouldnot despairof makinga positive
differenceinthelivesofanimals.Inmanypartsoftheworld,
includingEuropeandtheUnitedStates,therehasbeenahuge
shift in attitudes toward animals. The powerful animal
advocacymovementIhopedwouldemerge doesexist,and
thankstoundercovervideosandtheInternet,theinformation
it provides cannot be denied or suppressed. The animal
movementhaschallengedthehugeagribusinessindustrywith
remarkable success, forcing producers of meat and eggs
acrosstheentireEuropeanUnion—alltwenty-eightmember
nations—togivehensandpigsandvealcalvesmorespace
andconditionsbetter suitedtotheirneeds.Similar changes
havenow become law in California aswell, followingan
overwhelmingvictoryforanimaladvocatesinareferendum
in2008.Admittedly,thesechangesarestillfarfromgiving
factory-farmed animals acceptable lives, but they are a
significantimprovementonwhatwasstandardpracticebefore
the reforms came into effect.
Perhapsevenmoresatisfyingisthepopularityofbecoming
vegetarianorvegan,andthestill-largernumberwhohavecut
down their meat consumption, for both ethical and health
reasons.Inthe1970s,tobeavegetarianwastobeacrank—a
thoughtreflectedintheself-mockingnameofwhatwasthen
London’sbestvegetarianrestaurant,Cranks.Ifyouusedthe
term vegan, you invariably got a blank look and had to
explainwhatitmeant.Sincethen,thenumberofvegetarians
andvegansintheUnitedKingdomandtheUnitedStateshas
risensteadilyandcontinuestodoso.Evenincountrieslike