Though the vegetarian movement sparked by Peter Singer’s book
Animal Liberation has achieved some success, there is more animal suffering caused today due to factory farming than there was when the book
was originally written. In this paper, I argue that there may be a technological solution to the problem of animal suffering
in intensive factory farming operations. In particular, I suggest that recent research indicates that we may be very close
to, if not already at, the point where we can genetically engineer factory-farmed livestock with a reduced or completely eliminated
capacity to suffer. In as much as animal suffering is the principal concern that motivates the animal welfare movement, this
development should be of central interest to its adherents. Moreover, I will argue that all people concerned with animal welfare
should agree that we ought to replace the animals currently used in factory farming with animals whose ability to suffer is
diminished if we are able to do so.
Keywords Nonhuman animals - Animal neuroethics - Genetic engineering - Pain - Suffering - Bioethics