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The effects of the industrialization of US livestock agriculture on promoting sustainable production practices

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  • C. Hinrichs
  • Rick Welsh

Abstract

US livestock agriculture hasdeveloped and intensified according to a strictproductionist model that emphasizes industrialefficiency. Sustainability problems associatedwith this model have become increasinglyevident and more contested. Traditionalapproaches to promoting sustainable agriculturehave emphasized education and outreach toencourage on-farm adoption of alternativeproduction systems. Such efforts build on anunderlying assumption that farmers areempowered to make decisions regarding theorganization and management of theiroperations. However, as vertical coordinationin agriculture continues, especially in theanimal agriculture sectors, this assumptionbecomes less valid. This paper examines how thechanging industrial structure in four USlivestock sectors (poultry, hogs, beef, anddairy) affects possibilities in each forpromoting more sustainable productionpractices. Comparisons between the sectors arebased on the relative ability to employ anintensive pasture or alternative (deep-bedded)housing system, which are widely seen assustainable livestock alternatives. While thehighly integrated poultry sector appearsimpregnable to traditional sustainableagriculture approaches, the cow-calf sub-sectorof the beef industry, non-feedlot dairyoperations, and small parts of the hogindustry, especially in the Midwest, stillretain some potential for effectively targetingthe farmer. Building on the presentation ofbarriers and opportunities in the fourlivestock sectors, the paper concludes byevaluating several structurally-orientedapproaches to promoting a more sustainablelivestock agriculture that should complementmore traditional approaches. They includedeveloping alternative coordinated networks inlivestock agriculture, pressing integrators topermit more sustainable production practices,and working for legislation that shifts moredecision-making within integrated systemstowards growers. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2003

Suggested Citation

  • C. Hinrichs & Rick Welsh, 2003. "The effects of the industrialization of US livestock agriculture on promoting sustainable production practices," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 20(2), pages 125-141, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:20:y:2003:i:2:p:125-141
    DOI: 10.1023/A:1024061425531
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    1. Soler, Louis-Georges & Thomas, Alban, 2020. "Is there a win–win scenario with increased beef quality and reduced consumption?," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), vol. 101(1), July.
    2. Alban Thomas, 2020. "Is there a win-win scenario with both limited beef production and reduced beef consumption?," Working Papers hal-02790948, HAL.
    3. Megan Swindal & Gilbert Gillespie & Rick Welsh, 2010. "Community digester operations and dairy farmer perspectives," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 27(4), pages 461-474, December.
    4. Michael Stahlman & Laura McCann, 2012. "Technology characteristics, choice architecture, and farmer knowledge: the case of phytase," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 29(3), pages 371-379, September.
    5. James, Harvey S., Jr. & Hendrickson, Mary K., 2009. "Are Farmers of the Middle Distinctively “Good Stewards?” Evidence from the Missouri Farm Poll, 2006," Working Papers 92623, University of Missouri Columbia, Department of Agricultural Economics.
    6. Siwi Gayatri & Vincent Gasso-tortajada & Mette Vaarst, 2016. "Assessing Sustainability of Smallholder Beef Cattle Farming in Indonesia: A Case Study Using the FAO SAFA Framework," Journal of Sustainable Development, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 9(3), pages 236-236, April.
    7. Gita Surie, 2017. "Achieving Sustainability: Insights from Biogas Ecosystems in India," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-20, February.
    8. Hendrickson, Mary K. & James, Harvey S., Jr., 2004. "The Ethics Of Constrained Choice: How The Industrialization Of Agriculture Impacts Farming And Farmer Behavior," Working Papers 26040, University of Missouri Columbia, Department of Agricultural Economics.
    9. Jill Harrison & Christy Getz, 2015. "Farm size and job quality: mixed-methods studies of hired farm work in California and Wisconsin," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 32(4), pages 617-634, December.
    10. Douglas H. Constance, 2023. "The doctors of agrifood studies," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(1), pages 31-43, March.
    11. Jennifer Hayden & Sarah Rocker & Hannah Phillips & Bradley Heins & Andrew Smith & Kathleen Delate, 2018. "The Importance of Social Support and Communities of Practice: Farmer Perceptions of the Challenges and Opportunities of Integrated Crop–Livestock Systems on Organically Managed Farms in the Northern U," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-26, December.

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