Would you rather eat a pain-free steak? (Image: Frederic Sierakowski/Rex)

Editorial: Pain-free animals would not be guilt-free

WITH “hormone-free”, “cage-free” and “antibiotic-free” becoming common labels on our supermarket shelves, might “pain-free” be the next sticker slapped onto a rump roast?

As unlikely as that may seem, progress in neuroscience and genetics in recent years makes it a very real possibility. In fact, according to one philosopher, we have an ethical duty to consider the option.

“If we can’t do away with factory farming, we should at least take steps to minimise the amount of suffering that is caused,” says Adam Shriver, a philosopher at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri. In a …