Animal welfare, human health and climate change are not three separate problems in India but a single crisis sharing a common root of food systems designed without mechanisms to account for animal suffering, highlighted a report by India Karuna Collaborative, which was launched in Mumbai on Wednesday.
45 NGOs Unite to Expose Interlinkages in Food Production
A collective of over 45 NGOs, the India Karuna Collaborative released a position paper ‘The Interconnected Crisis: Animal Welfare, Human Health, and Climate Change in India’, that established the interlinkages at the root of food systems that have evolved without recognising animals as sentient beings. It stated that while India has climbed to become the world’s fourth-largest economy and expanded universal health coverage, animal agriculture remains a ‘red category’ polluter and a primary driver of public health risks.
"Animal welfare can no longer be viewed solely with an emotional lens or as an ethical gap. It must be viewed as a systemic failure with direct and measurable consequences for human health and climate stability,” the report stated.
Marico Founder Calls for Embedding Care Into Production Systems
IKC’s mentor and Marico’s founder chairman Harsh Mariwala said, “IKC is not asking India to simply care more. It is asking India to design better so that care becomes embedded in how we produce, consume, regulate and innovate. Over the years, whether in business or philanthropy, I’ve come to believe that purpose is not a slogan but a discipline. It changes what you invest in, what you measure, and what you build.”
The report highlighted a triple threat of public health crisis due to anti-microbial resistance (AMR) and zoonosis, environmental impact and the reality of intensive animal farming. The report drew a direct line from cramped animal pens to human mortality as approximately 60,000 newborns die annually in India from sepsis related to antibiotic-resistant infections. It linked the mortality to the 70% usage of global antibiotics in animal production.
Report Identifies Triple Threat of AMR, Zoonosis and Industrial Farming
The report suggested that in India, routine use in poultry and pig farming to prevent disease in cramped conditions is driving AMR, which could cause 10 million deaths annually by 2050. It also highlighted that about 75% of newly emerging human pathogens in recent decades have originated from animals.
The report also challenged the green image of traditional farming, claiming that animal agriculture accounts for 14.5% of total global greenhouse gas emissions. In India, methane from livestock accounts for 54.84% of all agricultural emissions. It also added that producing just one litre of milk in India requires 1,078 litres of water whereas global animal production uses 77% of agricultural land but provides only 37% of the world's protein. It claimed that India’s bovine population generates 1,655 million tonnes of dung annually, leading to significant groundwater contamination.
Staggering Scale of Animal Suffering Documented
It stressed that the invisible scale of suffering is immense, covering 851.8 million hens and 302.3 million bovines. According to estimates, egg-laying hens are often confined to battery cages with less space than an A4 sheet of paper, bred to lay 300 eggs a year compared to a natural 20. As the world's largest producer, India’s dairy sector faces issues with antibiotic and hormonal residues in milk, alongside the endemic presence of Brucellosis. In 2025 alone, Mizoram suffered losses of Rs114.64 crore due to African Swine Fever, a biosecurity risk amplified by poor hygiene and confinement.
The India Karuna Collaborative aims to move animal welfare from the periphery of charity to the centre of policy formation. The report outlines practical pathways for a just transition that is pro-growth, pro-health, and pro-sustainability. By recognizing animals as sentient beings capable of pain and social bonding, the collective argues that India can create a food system that protects its citizens from the next pandemic while securing its environmental future.
People for Animals’ trustee Gauri Maulekhi said, “The way we raise animals for food is deeply connected to human health. While this system keeps costs low, the long-term price is far higher, accelerating antimicrobial resistance and the emergence of deadly superbugs. The issue has been acknowledged at the highest levels yet it still does not receive the attention it urgently deserves.”
