Open Philanthropy has awarded $12.5 million to Mercy for Animals to further their activities in “preventing cruelty to farmed animals and to promote compassionate food choices and policies”.  The grant will be expended over a two-year period and will concentrate on broiler welfare and cage-free corporate campaigns. 

Mercy for Animals activities will take the form of intimidation of producers and coercion of retailers and restaurant chains to conform to ever-stringent welfare requirements that essentially lack scientific justification. Obviously the price to consumers will increase as a result of intensifying aspects of welfare. Only upper-income demographics are willing or are able to pay higher prices for intangible benefits. By unnecessarily raising prices on protein foods, Mercy for Animals are effectively spending other peoples’ money by imposing additional costs to satisfy what might be regarded as extreme requirements and standards.