By Katherine Sievert and Christine Parker
Australia was once the world's largest exporter of live animals. But exports have declined in recent years.
In May, the federal government announced live export of sheep by sea would end on May 1, 2028, in response to animal welfare concerns. This does not extend to other livestock animals or modes of transport.
Despite 30 years of public scrutiny, the suffering of livestock at sea continues. In our new research, we wanted to understand how the meat industry manages to sustain the status quo.
We explored parts of the meat industry in Australia, Brazil and the United States. We found a highly concentrated global industry, with close ties to governments, a lack of regulatory oversight, and protective cultural norms. To address these power imbalances, we propose a different approach to regulation.
Wielding power over nature, animals and people
Industrial production, trade and consumption of meat is harmful in many ways.
Aside from the human health consequences of eating to excess or risking antibiotic resistance, many types of meat production operations produce substantial greenhouse gases. They also degrade and contaminate natural resources and contribute to biodiversity loss. Some operations also involve the exploitation of workers, or harmful treatment of animals.
But the true costs of mass production are typically diverted from the producer onto others. In economics, this is called cost-shifting.
How do they get away with it? Large profit-driven corporates in the industrial livestock and meat-processing sector wield significant economic and political influence. This enables many of the negative impacts associated with meat production to continue. It also means our capacity to regulate them is limited.
These issues are not unique to Australia. Our research looked at three case studies across global meat supply chains:
- soybean production in Brazil, for export to feedlots in China
- live animal export from Australia
- meat processing in the United States.
We found close relationships between governments and industry, strong cultural and social values around meat, a lack of transparency in supply chains, and undue influence on policy-making. All contributed to prioritizing high levels of meat production, despite the harms involved.
Power play in Australia's live export trade
The production and consumption of meat has surged in recent decades. Meat has become a staple in the modern Australian diet and a major export commodity.
Australia's meat production depends on a powerful network of farmers, large-scale multinationals, powerful agribusiness representative groups, and close political and institutional relationships.
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