BQI Beacon: Issue #4

Academic works featured and their key messages

1. Hinchliffe, Stephen, et al. “Understanding the roles of economy and society in the relative risks of zoonosis emergence from livestock.”

   KEY TAKEAWAY: The problems caused by industrial food animal production are more multifaceted than is often realized.

2. Sievert, Katherine, et al. “How power in corporate-industrial meat supply chains enables negative externalities: Three case studies from Brazil, the US, and Australia.”

   KEY TAKEAWAY: Meat corporations are so powerful that they don't have to pay for the wide range of harms they cause around the world.

3. Schrobback, Peggy, et al. “Approximating the global economic (market) value of farmed animals.”

   KEY TAKEAWAY: Regardless of one’s views of various scales and types of livestock production, it is important to understand the market value of farmed animals especially in LMICs.

4. Durai, Nagarajan R., and K. R. Babuji. “The political ecology of shrimp aquaculture in Tamil Nadu: A case study from Mayiladuthurai District.”

   KEY TAKEAWAY: Global capitalism shapes shrimp aquaculture in India, with far-reaching consequences at the local level.

5. Zeng, Guojun, Zheng Chen, and Shuru Zhong. “"We Chinese just want meat!" An analysis of Chinese netizens’ reactions to vegetarian advocacy.”

   KEY TAKEAWAY: Some vegetarian advocacy work in China has faced considerable backlash.

6. Pina, Raisa. “Feeding inequality: The hidden costs of Brazil's meat industry monopoly.”

   KEY TAKEAWAY: JBS receives huge support from government of Brazil and global investors, but profits go to top executives, not its workers and society in Brazil.

7. Bennie, Andrew, and Andrew Bowman. “The beef with climate change: Growth, equity, and a just transition in the beef sector in South Africa.”

   KEY TAKEAWAY: South Africa beef industry's planned production increase for export jeopardizes smallholder cattle farmers as well as transition to a just and sustainable agriculture system.

Brief mention (non-academic reports)

1. European Commission. “A shared prospect for farming and food in Europe.”
2. FAO. “The state of food and agriculture 2024 – Value-driven transformation of agrifood systems.”