Q&A: LEAP’s Laura Fox Challenges Industrial Animal Agriculture and Advocates for Animals
Laura Fox is an environmental lawyer and animal advocate who recently joined the Law, Environment & Animals Program (LEAP) at Yale Law School as a Litigation Fellow focusing on animal agriculture and climate change. Fox brings extensive environmental justice and animal advocacy experience to LEAP, most recently serving as the Director of the Farmed Animal Advocacy Clinic at Vermont Law & Graduate School, where she trained students to litigate cases to improve the treatment of farmed animals and challenge factory farms’ social and environmental harms. She has also served as a Senior Staff Attorney at the Humane Society of the United States, a Visiting Fellow with the Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law and Policy Program at Harvard Law School, an Adjunct Professor of Animal Law at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, and an Adjunct Professor of philosophy and ethics at Northern Virginia Community College and Southern New Hampshire University.
Fox has also published on issues relating to environmental and animal law and welfare. Her recent publications include “The Intersectionality of Environmental Injustice, Other Societal Harms, and Farmed Animal Welfare” in Environmental Justice and “The Expansive Scope of Animal Law,” in The Vermont Bar Journal. Fox received her J.D. and Master of Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law & Graduate School and a B.A. with honors and an M.A. in philosophy from George Mason University.
Fox discusses her background in animal law, current and anticipated work with LEAP, and advice for students interested in pursuing animal and environmental law.
How did you first become interested in pursuing a career in environmental and animal law?
I've been an animal advocate for as long as I can remember, driven by a deep compassion and respect for all sentient beings. My journey into this field began in high school, where I took an environmental science course and realized that environmental law could serve as a powerful tool to advance animal interests. The myriad ways in which we exploit animals such as factory farming — have significant environmental impacts, from pollution to deforestation and climate change. Environmental law can be used not only to address these harms but also to protect animals directly by advocating for cleaner, more sustainable practices and preserving ecosystems critical to their survival. This realization set me on a path toward law school.
But before law school I continued my studies in philosophy and completed a paralegal certificate to make sure I would enjoy the practice of law, which involves lots of writing and research no matter the area of law you’re in. During my first master’s degree in philosophy, I studied ethical theories around animal rights, protection, and welfare, which further solidified my interest. I was, of course, influenced by the foundational works of Peter Singer and Tom Regan, but I was also deeply inspired by feminist care ethicists like Nel Noddings and Carol Adams, whose perspectives emphasized relational ethics, empathy, and the interconnectedness of oppressions. Their work provided a nuanced framework for understanding and advocating for animals within broader systems of justice and care, which I try to incorporate into my legal advocacy work. I discovered that animal law was emerging as a distinct field, yet still deeply interconnected with environmental law. I believe the law is one of the crucial tools society needs to fulfill its responsibility toward animals, and I am committed to contributing to that progress.
You’ve worked on a wide range of issues related to animals and the law. Why are you passionate about industrial animal agriculture and climate change issues in particular?
I'm particularly passionate about the intersection of animal agriculture and climate change because no other issue in animal law touches on so many critical areas. Industrialized animal agriculture is not only one of the largest sources of animal suffering but also a major driver of climate change, as the leading anthropogenic source of methane emissions. Methane, a super-potent greenhouse gas with high radiative forcing, is responsible for about one third of the world’s warming and is approximately 80 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide in its first 20 years in the atmosphere. With climate tipping points rapidly approaching, reducing methane — short-lived but extremely impactful — offers an immediate and significant opportunity to slow global warming. Addressing industrial animal agriculture could lead to substantial methane reductions, making it a critical climate mitigation strategy.
Beyond climate, tackling this issue tends to other crucial problems as well, each of which being further exacerbated by the effects of climate change. Industrialized animal agriculture impacts not just the animals in the system but also human workers, the environment, public health, and global ecosystems. Addressing these harms has transformative benefits across each of these spheres. For animals, it means alleviating immense suffering caused by extreme confinement, mutilations, and inhumane slaughter — conditions that are worsened by climate-induced disruptions, such as heat stress in overcrowded facilities. For workers, it addresses the exploitative and hazardous conditions prevalent in slaughterhouses, which are increasingly dangerous as extreme weather events and rising temperatures strain infrastructure and safety protocols. Environmentally, it reduces deforestation, water pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions—key drivers of biodiversity loss and climate change.
Moreover, it advances environmental justice by alleviating the disproportionate pollution burdens faced by marginalized communities living near factory farms — who are also more vulnerable to climate-related disasters, such as flooding and extreme heat — while promoting equitable access to clean air and water and safeguarding public and planetary health. Additionally, tackling this issue has profound public health implications, such as preventing zoonotic disease outbreaks and addressing the growing threat of antibiotic resistance, both of which thrive in unstable and warming environments.
By addressing industrial animal agriculture, we not only tackle its direct harms but also mitigate the ways in which climate change amplifies these interconnected problems, protecting animals, humans, and ecosystems alike. Because climate change affects all animals, combating this problem benefits everyone. The potential for widespread, meaningful change across so many areas drives my passion for addressing the interconnected harms of industrial animal agriculture and its role in climate change.
In addition to your academic career, you’ve litigated on behalf of animals. Is there a case from your career that was especially impactful or memorable to you?
One particularly impactful case from my career was a lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) over its response to outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), highlighting the immense cruelty and systemic issues within industrialized animal agriculture. When bird flu spreads through factory farms, where animals are overcrowded and stressed, the USDA’s response involves mass culling through inhumane methods like ventilation shutdown (VSD), which involves shutting down a facility’s entire ventilation system. Doing so causes carbon dioxide and heat to build up, leaving fully conscious birds to slowly suffocate to death. These practices harm public health, wildlife, and the environment. After the animals are cruelly killed, their bodies are often burned or buried, releasing toxins like dioxin — linked to cancer, immune system damage, and reproductive issues. These practices contaminate air, water, and soil, threatening nearby communities, wildlife, and ecosystems. The release of pathogens and pollutants pose severe risks to public health and natural resources, making VSD a harmful and unsustainable practice.
The lawsuit (brought by the Humane Society of the United States, Farm Sanctuary, and Mercy for Animals) challenged the USDA’s inadequate analysis of how its response to these outbreaks impacts ecosystems, water supplies, air quality, and human health. The resulting settlement required the USDA to revisit these risks and reconsider its approach. This case was meaningful because it addressed not only the suffering of millions of animals, but also broader issues like environmental degradation and public health threats such as zoonotic disease risks and antibiotic resistance. Industrial animal agriculture contributes to zoonotic disease risks by overcrowding stressed animals in unsanitary conditions that facilitate the spread and mutation of pathogens. And the industry’s overuse of antibiotics in these systems drives the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which renders critical medications ineffective, making infections harder to treat, increasing medical costs, and posing a significant threat to global public health.
The settlement marked a step toward holding industrialized animal agriculture accountable and promoting systemic changes like incentivizing cage-free systems that reduce overcrowding and disease amplification. With factory farms as breeding grounds for zoonotic diseases, proactive reforms are vital to safeguarding public health and preventing future pandemics. Climate change exacerbates these threats by increasing the spread, mutation, and virulence of pathogens, as I explored in my article, “Playing with Fire: Factory Farming, Zoonotic Diseases, Climate Change, and the Global Health Inequity Crisis.” Addressing the interconnected harms of factory farming is a critical step for public and planetary health, especially as upcoming administrative changes and alarming proposed appointments of anti-vaccine activists to top positions in federal government threaten progress on public health safeguards. This urgency is underscored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s confirmation of Oregon’s first human case of bird flu; the first detection of the virus in swine in the United States also occurred in that state. Since pigs’ physiologies are so similar to humans, this development is particularly alarming, as it increases the likelihood of a virus mutating and jumping to humans, posing a significant risk of a new pandemic.
What do you hope to accomplish while working on animal agriculture and climate issues with LEAP?
While working on animal agriculture and climate issues with LEAP, I aim to make an impact in three key areas, with the first being integrating animal agriculture into climate conversations. I hope to ensure that animal agriculture is consistently recognized as a critical factor in both climate change problems and solutions, bringing much-needed attention to its environmental and climate impacts.
Second, I aim to accelerate my work on holding bad actors accountable by developing and implementing innovative strategies that compel corporations and industries to internalize the true costs of their environmental, climate, and animal welfare harms. This involves leveraging a combination of legal, regulatory, and market-based approaches to ensure these entities can no longer externalize the consequences of their actions onto animals, communities, and the planet.
And third, I’m excited about the opportunity LEAP offers to educate and inspire future leaders. I aspire to expose students to the complex, intersectional issues at the nexus of animal agriculture and climate change, equipping them with the knowledge and tools to tackle these challenges effectively in their careers. By focusing on these areas, I hope to advance meaningful progress in both policy and practice, while fostering a new generation of leaders dedicated to addressing these important issues.
What advice, if any, do you have for current law students — or other graduate and undergraduate students — who are interested in issues related to animal law?
My advice to students interested in animal law is to think broadly and creatively about your studies and career path. Animal law is an incredibly broad field that intersects with many areas of law and policy, and tackling complex issues like industrial animal agriculture requires a variety of tools and perspectives. Take courses or pursue degrees in areas that may not seem directly related to animal advocacy — you might be surprised by the insights and strategies you can bring from fields like economics, environmental science, securities law, or tort law. These areas, and many others, offer unique opportunities to contribute meaningfully to protecting animals and addressing the systemic issues they face. No matter your background, there’s a role for you in advancing animal interests.
