BQI Beacon: Issue #5

April 2025
Six works by academics are featured and they cover these topics: 1) Not easy to industrialize animal agriculture in Kazakhstan. 2) Livestock sector is not hit by meat analog's growth in Korea. 3) Mariculture's adverse impacts on wild environment and lives. 4) Senegal's import ban benefits smaller scale broiler producers. 5) Power dynamics within Indonesia's laying hen industry. 6) Economic and financial drivers of livestock industries in LMICs.

Jashim Uddin on Cattle Welfare in Bangladesh

Key topics of this conversation from late 2024: 1) Focus on cattle trade from India to Bangladesh. 2) Cattle production in Bangladesh. 3) Cattle welfare in the Indian subcontinent. 4) Cattle smuggling from India and Myanmar to Bangladesh. 5) Requirements in Bangladesh for cattle feeding and slaughter. 6) Feeding Bangladesh’s large population. 7) Bangladesh animal welfare legislation and standards. 8) Alternative strategies to deal with surplus Indian cattle. 9) The Eid-al-Adha festival and feeding Bangladesh’s large population. 10) Jashim’s work to introduce animal welfare concepts to Bangladesh.

BQI Beacon: Issue #4

December 2024
Seven works by academics are featured and they cover these topics: 1) Industrial animal agriculture's many facets. 2) Powerful meat industry does not pay for harms caused. 3) Market value of farmed animals globally. 4) Local impact of farming shrimp in India for export. 5) Vegetarian advocacy in China faced backlash. 6) JBS's profits benefit top execs, not workers and Brazil society. 7) Beef industry's growth in South Africa can hurt smallholders.

Issue 20: Chicken meat and eggs production in Asia: Quiz!

Asia produces more than 60% of chicken eggs in the world, and production increased almost fourfold in the past three decades. The top three countries are China (almost 40%), India, and Indonesia. These same three countries also produced and slaughtered the most broiler chickens in Asia.

BQI Beacon: Issue #3

August 2024
Seven works by academics are featured and they cover these topics: 1) Factors shaping chicken and egg consumption in India. 2) Certification's impact on shrimp farming in Vietnam. 3) A political economic perspective on transforming the food system. 4) Feed production for pigs and chickens in Thailand. 5) The broader impacts of the farmed salmon industry's use of technical metrics. 6) Diverse groups tackling mega meat farms in Latin America. 7) Two approaches to improve farm animal welfare in Europe.

Issue 19: "Big" meat, food, ag corporations: What's this bigness about and why should anyone care?

Why does "big" matter? Why should anyone care that animal protein and agri-food industries are dominated by a handful of mega-conglomerates?

Grisel Navarro on Long-Distance Transport

Key topics of this conversation from March 2024: 1) Clive outlines the latest interview series focus: Animal welfare management in developing countries. 2) Today addresses welfare of animals during long- distance transport. 3) Clive introduces Dr. Grisel Navarro from the Catholic University of Temuco, Chile. 4) Focus on the transportation of cattle over 1000km by sea from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt, in Southern Chile. 5) Land transport alternatives are prohibitive due to road conditions. 6) Chilean public largely unaware or ambivalent to sea transportation. 7) Regulation of welfare standards and responsibilities of stakeholders. 8) Stocking densities and husbandry standards for live transport. 9) Alternatives to travel: potential roles for local abattoirs. 10) Comparison with live transport issues found in Australia.

BQI Beacon: Issue #2

April 2024
Eight works by academics are featured and they cover these topics: 1) Global poultry genetics companies' power in Africa. 2) Diets in LMICs shaped by complex food environment. 3) Tradeoffs required to make livestock systems climate-friendly. 4) Asian industrial broiler production's wide range of problems. 5) EU food strategies can improve LMICs' animal welfare. 6) Tactics to sell industrial chicken products in Guatemala. 7) Egypt's poultry industry harbors avian flu and gets subsidies. 8) Problematic claims made by dairy companies in China.

Issue 18: What does "success" mean in government actions related to food animal production in LMICs?

There is hardly any advocacy group that does not realize that government actions – and inaction – matter in the production of food animals in their countries, and sometimes beyond their borders as well.

Zulkifli Idrus on Poultry Welfare

Key topics of this conversation from August 2023: 1) Clive introduces Zulkifli Idrus. 2) Red Junglefowl are the ancestors of modern chicken breeds. 3) Tonic immobility tests show modern commercial chicken breeds are less fearful than Junglefowl. 4) Biggest problems to broiler (meat) chicken welfare - rapid growth, leg and skin problems. 5) Cardiovascular problems and sudden-death syndrome. 6) Skin problems - contact dermatitis with breast, foot-pad and upper leg (hock) injuries. 7) Feed restriction methods to manage rapid growth rate in hot climates. 8) Harvesting and transportation issues. 9) Nutritional supplements such as probiotics and prebiotics to improve gut health. 10) Heat stress mitigation and future challenges with climate change. 11) Welfare issues concerning stocking densities and litter quality. 12) Welfare of layer chickens and other poultry. 13) Final comments.