Modern "New Welfarists" use welfare campaigns as incremental steps toward a rights mindset. By advocating for "meatless Mondays" or vegan "mock meats," they are shifting culture toward plant-based eating. By pushing for stronger anti-cruelty laws, they are building a legal precedent that animals are more than toasters.
While a "pure" rights view is currently a minority position in law, it has shifted the Overton window. The very concept that animals might have legal standing —the ability to sue in court—is no longer science fiction. In 2022, a court in Argentina recognized a captive orangutan as a "non-human person" with the right to freedom.