EUR 3.1 million for research into meat industry

"We are taking the meat industry as a highly topical example and will examine different corporate strategies in terms of internationalisation, labour, politics and culture," said Dr Christin Bernhold, Faculty of Earth System Sciences, and head of the research group. The team will explore the repercussions of corporate strategies on SDGs in relation to national stakeholders and those in civil society, she added. The team consists of three post-doctoral researchers, two PhD  and three assistants.

Research into bioeconomics has so far focused on technological innovations and reducing unsustainable forms of consumption. However, little attention has been paid to the impact of corporate strategies. The continued global growth of the meat industry despite the rapid development of plant-based foods could jeopardise the implementation of the SDGs, said Bernhold, adding "The industry - exacerbated by the COVID 19 pandemic - has become a flashpoint for societal disputes on how to design the production and sale of food." Conflicts about health, climate protection, animal welfare and working conditions have increasingly arisen. Thus, there is greater need for research into the meat industry. 

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