In my 30-year career as an animal scientist, I have focused on two areas of cattle and pig treatment badly in need of major improvement: farm housing and slaughterhouse handling. Measurements of direct field observations have proven to be a reliable method for improving animal welfare in these areas.

Housing and related welfare issues of concern that should be assessed are

• The respective percentage of 1) lame, skinny, and dirty animals, 2) animals displaying abnormal behavior, and 3) overcrowded animals; the presence of dirty, wet bedding; and the detection of high ammonia levels
• Basic environmental accommodations (availability of a generator or other life support back-up system, clean water, and euthanasia instruments, as well as the quality of facility maintenance)
• Whether housing is adapted to the animals' behavioral needs. For example, research has demonstrated that pigs actively seek fibrous plant material to forage in, yet modern farming systems often do not provide for this behavioral need. Moreover, sows on many farms are housed for most of their adult lives in stalls not wide enough for a sow to turn around in. Despite studies that demonstrate that such stalls do not reduce sow productivity, the ethical considerations of housing sows in these stalls must be taken into account.