What Do We Mean by Front-line Persons?

The term “front-line persons” is used as shorthand to refer to an assortment of persons who are trying to grapple with various complex negative impacts of industrial food animal production, especially concerning low- and middle-income countries. Broadly speaking, they include: 

• Staff and volunteers in non-governmental organizations, non-profit advocacy groups, and civil society working with various stakeholders to improve poor conditions and advocate for change (e.g. work collaboratively to raise animal welfare standards).
• Activists mounting campaigns to oppose certain practice or principle in this system of production.
• Smallholder farmers experiencing unfavorable impacts from industrial producers.
• Communities contending with predicaments such as environmental pollution from large facilities.
• Philanthropic funders that support the above groups

We engage with front-line persons because:

•  We are concerned that if their understanding of this whole complex issue of global industrial food animal production is suboptimal, the likelihood of their succeeding in their endeavors and sustaining the gains they make in addressing aspects of this issue will be greatly reduced.
•  We want to find out from them how academic researchers can assist them.
• We want to deliver information and insights from academic researchers into their hands.