Economic incentive structures for animal welfare in emerging farming technologies
- commitment
- 4 hrs/week
- flexibility
- Open to proposals
The project
This research explores how to make animal welfare economically attractive when companies implement emerging technologies, AI, precision livestock farming, automation, in industries with high welfare externalities.
- Regulation alone is fragile, as it can be weakened by political change and often overlooks non-human welfare, even where AI regulation exists (e.g., the EU AI Act).
- The goal is to develop a conceptual framework identifying which economic incentives (government subsidies, ESG criteria, reputational capital, supply chain conditionality) most effectively make welfare a rational choice for the animal farming industry, based on interest group theory and regulatory capture literature.
Expected outputs include a first draft of the conceptual framework and an in-depth case study of one animal farming subsector, which can later be expanded into a full comparative analysis. The specific region and sector studied (e.g., aquaculture, poultry, insects) will be defined by the mentee's expertise or familiarity.
The mentee's role
- Helping select and research the specific subsector or region for the case study, based on their own expertise or interests
- Conducting a literature review on interest group theory, regulatory capture, and relevant economic incentive mechanisms
- Collecting and organizing data on existing incentives (subsidies, ESG criteria, corporate welfare commitments) for the chosen case
- Drafting sections of the case study and contributing to the conceptual framework
Who I'm looking for
Must-haves:
- Reliability and clear communication about progress, capacity, and timelines
- Genuine interest in the project you'll be working on
Nice-to-haves (for my project proposal):
- Research experience (political economy, regulatory analysis, or economics)
- Professional experience within companies, ideally in the animal farming or food industry, or a solid understanding of corporate incentives and decision-making more broadly
- Familiarity with animal welfare, agtech, foodtech, or ESG/impact investing
Nice-to-haves (for your own project idea):
- Prior research or validation supporting why the idea matters
- Willingness to revisit assumptions based on market research and feedback
- Action-oriented approach
Questions for applicants
(For my project proposal): What animal farming subsector and region would you focus this case study on, and why?
(For your own project idea): What is your project idea? What problem does it aim to solve? Why do you believe this solution is the right way to address it? Why are you the right person to lead it?
Support offered
- Shaping project direction and scope
- Domain expertise across animal welfare, corporate incentives, grantmaking, and government innovation policy
- Facilitating connections across the animal welfare and entrepreneurship ecosystems
- Helping translate research into practical, actionable outputs
- Accountability and steady guidance through regular check-ins
- format
- Research & writing
- topic
- Near-term impact
Linda Obregon
Industrial engineer and entrepreneur with 15+ years of experience across financial consulting, corporate strategy, animal welfare advocacy, and government innovation policy in Peru, Mexico, and Chile. I've co-founded an animal welfare nonprofit backed by major philanthropic funders, including Coefficient Giving, as well as a plant-based foodtech startup backed by venture investors. Previously, I served as Executive Director of Mercy For Animals Latin America and as an Innovation Grantmaker Specialist at Peru's national innovation and technology agency. I'm interested in AI's impact on animal welfare and have studied AI governance and AGI strategy, alongside an MIT MicroMasters in Microeconomics. My interest is in the economic incentives needed to make animal welfare rational for animal farming companies adopting emerging technologies.