'Happy Animals are Tasty Animals' Farm animal welfare policies are increasing in the EU, but has the way we relate to animals changed?

Abstract: Historically, animals have been excluded from the realms of political theory and political science. The underpinning disposition of this thesis is that animals belong in politics, considering it is the political processes and ideologies that determine our treatment of animals. The European Union started to legislate on the protection and welfare of farm animals during the 1970s. Over time, a slow but steady increase in the number and specificity of farm animal welfare policy can be observed. This thesis will analyse if our disposition towards animals has changed parallel to the policy increase. In order to measure this potential change, EU working documents relating to farm animal welfare were analysed to identify the underpinning logics and sentiments in the political discourse. Three time periods between 1974 and 2016 were selected for analysis based on their political activity regarding farm animal welfare. It was expected that parallel to the policy increase in farm animal welfare, the disposition towards animals would follow in the same direction. However, the research results demonstrated the opposite.