Animal welfare is a multi-dimensional and value-laden concept, focusing on 3 broad questions: (1) is the animal functioning well, (2) is the animal feeling well, and (3) is the animal able to live a reasonably natural life? However, even experts disagree about which attributes to consider and how these should be weighted in welfare assessments. The natural living aspect of animal welfare is least clear academically, and is likely the animal welfare issue that causes the farm animal industries the most difficulty. The “unnaturalness” of modern housing conditions is, however, one of the greatest sources of public concern, and is one area where common practices on dairy farms are not in step with public values. For instance, in the United States, less than 5% of the US lactating dairy herd is able to graze routinely, in direct contrast to what the public want and expect for dairy cows. Another interesting example concerns the early separation of the cow and calf. In this case the majority of the public see early separation as unnatural and thus a threat to the welfare of both cow and calf, whereas most working within the industry believe that later separation creates greater problems. The public is also concerned about restriction of movement, suggesting that highly restrictive housing practices such as tie-stalls and calf hutches will be considered important threats to welfare. In this presentation, we describe examples from our most recent work focusing on the natural living aspect of welfare, how these relate to public concerns, and how resolving these concerns about natural living may address and aggravate other welfare issues. We conclude that failure to address deeply held public values around naturalness may threaten the long-term sustainability of the dairy industry.