A hen is moved out of a battery cage. She has more room to move, spread her wings, perch, and engage in some of her natural behaviors.
But she is still part of a system that will ultimately exploit and kill her.
So, is cage-free really a win for animals?
That question gets to the heart of this conversation with Dan Shannon, CEO of The Humane League.
Dan doesn’t pretend cage-free is the answer. In fact, he is very clear that it isn’t. Instead, he explains why these seemingly small wins can be strategically important in creating much bigger change for farmed animals.
In this episode of Better Life for Animals, Dan and Cheryl Moss dig into what happens when animal advocates push corporations to change, what happens when those corporations break their promises, and why public policy could either protect or threaten decades of progress.
The bigger question running through the episode is one every animal advocate eventually faces:
When the ultimate goal seems so far away, do smaller victories really matter?
Dan’s answer is yes, because sometimes a small win isn’t the destination. It’s what makes the next win possible.
What Cage-Free Really Means
Dan gives a stark description of life for hens in battery cages. Four to six hens can spend their entire lives confined in a space roughly the size of a file-cabinet drawer, unable to spread their wings or engage in basic natural behaviors.
Cage-free is better, but Dan makes an important distinction: better doesn’t mean good.
Moving hens out of battery cages can significantly reduce suffering, even though cage-free systems still fall far short of the life advocates ultimately want for animals.
When Companies Make Promises They Don’t Keep
Getting a corporation to announce a cage-free commitment is one thing. Getting it to actually follow through is another.
Dan explains why accountability campaigns are such an important part of The Humane League’s work. Companies may respond to animal welfare concerns, but they are also businesses driven by
profit.
For advocates, that means keeping the pressure on and making it clear that abandoning animal welfare commitments can have consequences for a company’s reputation and relationship with its customers.
Protecting Decades of Progress
Dan and Cheryl also discuss the Farm Bill and attempts to weaken or overturn state and local protections for farmed animals, including laws such as California’s Proposition 12.
For Dan, this fight represents more than protecting individual laws. Animal advocates have spent decades building public support, passing protections, defending them, and demonstrating that people care about the treatment of farmed animals.
Protecting those gains could help open the door to even stronger protections in the future.
Small Wins Can Create Bigger Change
This may be the most important takeaway from the conversation.
Cage-free isn’t the end goal.
Dan sees reforms like cage-free policies as strategic starting points. Once a company or government acknowledges that a particular form of animal cruelty is unacceptable, advocates have a foundation from which to push further.
Smaller campaigns also give more people a way into the animal protection movement. Someone who isn’t ready to become vegan may be willing to support a corporate campaign, volunteer, make a phone call, or support an animal protection measure.
One action can lead to another.
Betty Goes Vegan
Dan has been vegan for about 30 years and says he believes everyone should go vegan, while also recognizing that not everyone is ready to make that change today.
His cookbook, Betty Goes Vegan, co-authored with his wife Annie Shannon, was created to make vegan eating practical for everyday families.
Inspired by classic Betty Crocker-style American comfort food, the book demonstrates that people don’t have to completely change the kinds of foods they love to become vegan. They can learn to make familiar dishes using different ingredients.
And Dan’s favorite recipe? Chicken pot pie.
Get Betty Goes Vegan: CLICK HERE
The Power of Animal Sanctuaries
Dan also shares his family’s connection to Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary in upstate New York, which they visit several times a year.
He describes the experience as transformational for his daughter because she gets to see farmed animals living their lives rather than being treated as industrial production units.
That experience gives her an entirely different frame of reference for understanding who farmed animals are.
Reasons for Hope
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Despite the enormous challenges facing farmed animals, Dan remains hopeful.
He sees progress in the growth of cage-free systems, changing corporate policies, greater cultural acceptance of veganism, and younger generations who increasingly view protecting animals as something positive and important.
The ultimate goal may still seem far away.
But today’s wins can help make tomorrow’s bigger victories possible.
Episode Highlights
00:00 Introduction
01:30 About Dan Shannon and The Humane League
04:15 The truth about the Farm Bill
05:30 What cage-free really means
08:00 Cage-free vs. battery cages
12:00 Companies are about profit first
15:00 Overturning propositions that protect animals
20:30 How today’s actions impact the future
24:15 Betty Goes Vegan
26:45 Going vegan may be for you if…
28:30 The benefit of animal sanctuaries
34:00 TheHumaneLeague.org
Links
Betty Goes Vegan: https://amzn.to/4xTAZcA
The Humane League: https://www.TheHumaneLeague.org
About Dan Shannon
Dan Shannon is the Chief Executive Officer of The Humane League, a global nonprofit working to end the abuse of animals raised for food. With more than 25 years in animal advocacy and social impact, Dan has built his career around creating meaningful, large-scale change for animals.
Before joining The Humane League as CEO in 2025, Dan held leadership roles at PETA, Purpose, and the Tides Foundation. His experience includes corporate campaigns, public policy, movement building, and developing advocacy strategies designed to challenge some of the most harmful practices in factory farming.
Dan is also a longtime vegan and co-author, with his wife Annie Shannon, of the bestselling cookbook Betty Goes Vegan. The book takes familiar American comfort foods and shows how they can be made vegan without completely changing the way people eat.
Today, Dan leads The Humane League’s work to improve conditions for farmed animals through corporate accountability, policy change, and movement building. His approach recognizes that while reforms such as cage-free commitments are not the ultimate goal, reducing suffering today can help create the foundation for greater protections tomorrow.
Dan’s work reflects a longstanding commitment to changing how farmed animals are treated and building a future in which animals are no longer subjected to the abuses of factory farming.
About Cheryl Moss
Cheryl Moss is the host of the Better Life for Animals podcast, where she shares uplifting stories from sanctuaries and highlights the work of vegan activists, ethical consumers, and animal welfare leaders. She is also the founder of the Funding Blueprint for Sanctuaries summit, designed to empower those involved with sanctuaries to create sustainable funding streams.
A passionate advocate for animal welfare, Cheryl is dedicated to ending factory farming and supporting underrepresented sanctuaries.
Beyond podcasting, Cheryl is a banking professional and an accomplished children’s author. A graduate of Main Street Vegan Academy, she recently added Vystopia Transformation to her resume. The Vystopia work, created by psychologist Clare Mann, focuses on the emotional impact many people experience after becoming aware of animal suffering and exploitation. The training offers tools for resilience, communication, and emotional well-being while continuing to advocate for positive change.
Through her books, Gabriel, Cluck, and Pickle the Pig, Cheryl inspires young readers to embrace kindness, sustainability, and compassion for animals.
When not advocating, she enjoys Pilates and spending time with her rescue dogs and grandchildren. Through her work, writing, and activism, Cheryl continues to inspire positive change for animals and the planet.
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