SPCA would like to see all animals farmed in New Zealand cared for in a way that provides them a high standard of animal welfare. A barrier that prevents some consumers from buying animal food products that have been farmed to the highest animal welfare standards is their higher cost. The problem that society faces is that consumers must be able to feed their families within their means but the continuing demand for cheap animal food products perpetuates farming systems that do not adhere to the highest animal welfare standards.

Conscious Cooking challenges students to develop a nutritionally balanced weekly meal plan that only uses chicken meat, pork and egg products that are independently animal welfare certified against high animal welfare standards and is still affordable. Students will learn about the Five Domains, animal sentience, different farming production systems and how animals’ welfare needs are catered for differently under different systems. They will then investigate what animal food products farmed under these different systems cost, developing their understanding of the problem consumers face. Students will then develop their weekly meal plan with a focus on investigating plant proteins and incorporating some of these into their weekly meal plan as a cheaper, alternative source of protein.