The Meat Business; Devouring a Hungry Planet

by Geoff Tansey and Joyce D'Silva

• ISBN13: 9780312226862
• ISBN10: 0312226861
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 1999-11-20
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

This ground-breaking book by international experts on all aspects of food production, farming and animal welfare shows that there is an alternative to intensive farming of animals or genetic engineering in order to feed the world. The alternative, which is healthier for humans and kinder to animals, involves not devoting enormous resources to the production of meat, subjecting animals to often appalling treatment and creating both unfair food distribution and a poor diet. The contributions challenge the entire system of agriculture and the food market, asserting that animal welfare, human welfare, and the welfare of the planet go hand in hand.

Author Biography

Geoff Tansey is a freelance writer, broadcaster and consultant in food and farming issues and author of The Food System.

Joyce D'Silva is Director of Compassion in World Farming (CIWF).

Table of Contents

Acronyms and Abbreviations	vii
About the Contributors	ix
Editor's Note	xiv
Geoff Tansey
Introduction	xv
Joyce D'Silva
Part I Conflicting Visions
The Absurdity of Modern Agriculture: From Chemical Fertilizers and Agropoisons to Biotechnology	3	(12)
Jose A Lutzenberger
Melissa Halloway
Intensive Farming and Biotechnology: Saving People and Wildlife in the 21st Century	15	(10)
Dennis T Avery
Part II Whose Path to Follow?
American Agriculture's Ethical Crossroads	25	(18)
Michael W Fox
Future Agriculture: Giant or Gentle?	43	(12)
Christine Townend
Barons of the New Millennium	55	(6)
John Vidal
Part III Animal Welfare
Why I Do Not Eat Meat	61	(4)
Chris Mullin
An Agenda for Reform: Farm Animal Welfare in the European Union	65	(8)
Mark F Watts
Campaigning for Change in the European Union	73	(9)
Philip Lymbery
Farm Animal Welfare in Central and Eastern Europe	82	(10)
Janice H Cox
Factory Farming and the Meat Industry in India	92	(11)
Maneka Gandhi
Part IV Human Well-Being
Feeding the World a Healthy Diet	103	(17)
Geoffrey Cannon
Towards a Sustainable Food Policy	120	(19)
Tim Lang
Part V Farming Threats and Opportunities
Genetic Engineering and the Threat to Farm Animals	139	(15)
Joyce D'Silva
Genetic Engineering and Food Security	154	(6)
Julie Sheppard
The Global Contribution of Organic Farming	160	(9)
Patrick Holden
Beyond the Killing Fields: Working Towards A Vegetarian Future	169	(18)
Mark Gold
Part VI Trade, Welfare and Values
Trade Rules, Animal Welfare and the European Union	187	(11)
Peter Stevenson
Penalizing the Poor: GATT, WTO and the Developing World	198	(16)
Vandana Shiva
Sustainable Agriculture's Friend and Foe: the WTO	214	(7)
Hugh Raven
Multilateral Investment: an Agreement Too Far	221	(7)
Barry Coates
Human Values and World Trade	228	(11)
Atherton Martin
Conclusion: Where do we go from here?	235	(4)
Joyce D'Silva
Contact addresses	239	(2)
Index	241