BQI Beacon: Issue #7

Issue 7 covers these topics: 1) Power of agrifood firms sabotages consumers' agency and choice. 2) Using diverse types of data to reveal aquaculture development in 150 countries. 3) Pollution and conflicts caused by industrial pig and poultry production in Yucatan. 4) Large livestock companies in China and the US use different business models. 5) Urgent need for livestock systems that are climate-friendly and socially fair. 6) Big players own industrial broiler production in Brazil, Mexico, India, China. 7) Development banks drive animal agriculture GHG emissions in sub-Saharan Africa.

Academic works featured and their key messages

1. Clapp, Jennifer, et al. “Corporate concentration and power matter for agency in food systems.”

   KEY TAKEAWAY: People's “choices and voices” in food systems are sabotaged by the disproportionate power of giant agrifood firms.

2. Partelow, Stefan, et al. “Archetypes of aquaculture development across 150 countries.”

   KEY TAKEAWAY: Combining social, environmental, economic, and governance data reveals patterns in aquaculture development across 150 countries.

3. Rodríguez-López, Abelardo, and Emilio De Los Ríos-Ibarra. “Industrial poultry and swine groundwater pollution in a karstic environment: Yucatan, Mexico.”

   KEY TAKEAWAY: There is an urgent need for dialogue among all stakeholders to resolve conflicts caused by pollution from industrial pig and poultry operations in Yucatán.

4. Chen, Guancheng. “Comparative analysis of livestock industry chains: China vs. the United States: Insights from Wens and Tyson Foods.”

   KEY TAKEAWAY: Livestock companies in China and the US have different business models, which are shaped by different consumer preferences, labor costs, and fast-food market demand.

5. Thornton, Philip, et al. “Options for a just transition for livestock under climate change.”

   KEY TAKEAWAY: A transition to livestock systems that meet environmental and climate goals while being socially fair is both urgently needed and hugely challenging.

6. Karamchedu, Ambarish, and Ben Coles. “Who owns chickens: Corporate control and industrial broiler production in the global south.”

   KEY TAKEAWAY: Broiler chickens in Brazil, Mexico, India, China are mostly produced and controlled by a cluster of giant corporations and financial institutions.

7. Narain, Divya. “Climate course correction: Preventing greenhouse gas emission (GHG) lock-in from development finance driven industrialization of animal agriculture in low-income countries.”

   KEY TAKEAWAY: Development banks' investments in industrial animal agriculture in low-income countries (mainly in sub-Saharan Africa) drive and "lock-in" GHG emissions in these countries.

Brief mention (non-academic reports)

1. FAO. “Transforming food and agriculture through a systems approach.”
2. FAO. Global Conference on Sustainable Livestock. 2025.