This book provides an in-depth analysis of the factors providing the impetus for change in the North American beef industry and how the industry is responding to the challenges. The beef industry story provides lessons for other agri-food industries attempting to respond to rapidly evolving food markets. The book provides important insights into the process whereby industries respond to a rapidly changing marketplace and, in particular, industries with complex supply chains consisting of many actors. The agri-food industry provides an excellent example of a market that is evolving rapidly in ways few would have contemplated even a few years ago. The beef industry has an exceedingly complex supply chains that must co-ordinate complex resources such as genetics, extensive grazing, precision feeding strategies, high tech processing, cold chain logistics and food safety protocols. The interaction between changing demands and the beef industry's responses to an evolving marketplace provide the focus of the book. The book examines the process whereby the beef industry prior is making the transition from a supplier of commodities to a provider of differentiated products with attributes tailored to individual consumers. The book then provides a theoretical basis for the examination of evolving supply chains and a means by which the industry's response can be assessed using modern quantitative methods. Case studies are developed to dig deeper into the transition the beef industry is experiencing. Insights are drawn for other agri-food sectors facing similar challenges. Ranchers have always had a special place in the cultural heritage that defines North Americans and beef has been the premium product in the dietary hierarchy in traditional North American cuisine. As urban dwellers who are generations removed from agricultural production now overwhelmingly make up the consumer base, the image of cattle producers is buffeted by new customer priorities such as animal welfare, environmental sustainability and the ability to determine the place of origin of their food. As the proportion of food consumed at home declines and consumers seek to expand their range of culinary experiences, food from cultures where beef is not a mainstay of the diet have gained more prominence. These restaurant experiences are increasingly being reflected in the near table ready products on offer in supermarkets. Consumers are still likely to enjoy a good steak, other traditional beef products now struggle for consumers. The implications of the response of the beef industry to the changes buffeting the sector goes beyond strictly commercial concerns and will determine the place of beef and the industry's participants in the evolving North American culture.

The history of the meat packing industry of the Midwest offers an excellent illustration of the growth and development of the economy of that major industrial region. In the course of one generation, meat packing matured from a small-scale, part-time activity to a specialized manufacturing operation. Margaret Walsh's pioneering study traces the course of that development, shedding light on an unexamined aspect of America's economic history. As the Midwest emerged from the frontier period during the 1840s and 1850s, the growing urban demand for meat products led to the development of a seasonal industry conducted by general merchants during the winter months. In this early stage the activity was widely dispersed but centered mainly along rivers, which provided ready transportation to markets. The growth of the railroads in the 1850s, coupled with the westward expansion of population, created sharp changes in the shape and structure of the industry. The distinct advantages of good rail connections led to the concentration of the industry primarily in Chicago, but also in St. Louis and Milwaukee. The closing of the Mississippi River during the Civil War insured the final dominance of rail transport and spelled the relative decline of such formerly important packing points as Cincinnati and Louisville. By the 1870s large and efficient centralized stockyards were being developed in the major centers, and improved technology, particularly ice-packing, favored those who had the capital resources to invest in expansion and modernization. By 1880, the use of the refrigerated car made way for the chilled beef trade, and the foundations of the giant meat packing industry of today had been firmly established. Margaret Walsh has located an impressive array of primary materials to document the rise of this important early industry, the predecessor and in many ways the precursor of the great industrial complex that still dominates today's midwestern economy.

Air Emissions from Animal Feeding Operations: Current Knowledge, Future Needs discusses the need for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to implement a new method for estimating the amount of ammonia, nitrous oxide, methane, and other pollutants emitted from livestock and poultry farms, and for determining how these emissions are dispersed in the atmosphere. The committee calls for the EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to establish a joint council to coordinate and oversee short - and long-term research to estimate emissions from animal feeding operations accurately and to develop mitigation strategies. Their recommendation was for the joint council to focus its efforts first on those pollutants that pose the greatest risk to the environment and public health.

The livestock revolution; Recent transformation of livestock food demand; Accompanying transformation of livestock supply; Projections of future demand and supply to 2020; Implications of the livestock revolution for world trade and food prices; Nutrition, food security, and poverty alleviation; Environmental sustainability; Public health; Technology needs and prospects; Taking stock and moving forward.

The late twentieth century has seen profound changes in the character of the international economic order. According to the authors of this study, Canada has failed to come to terms with those changes. Our industrial policy is diffuse, ad hoc, and sectoral. Michael Atkinson and William Coleman argue that in order to analyse Canada’s industrial policy effectively, particular attention must be given to industry organization, state structures, and systems of interest intermediation at the sectoral level. To make such an analysis they introduce the concept of policy network, and apply it to three types of industrial sectors: the research-intensive sectors of telecommunications manufacturing and pharmaceuticals; the rapidly changing sectors of petrochemicals and meat processing; and the contracting and troubled sectors of textiles, clothing, and dairy processing. Through the lens of these sectors Coleman and Atkinson shed considerable light on the intersection of political considerations and policy development, and offer a new base on which to move forward in planning for economic growth.

"The assessment builds on the work of the Livestock, Environment and Development (LEAD) Initiative"--Pref.

Focusing on the interactions of producers, sellers and consumers of meat across the world, Richard Perren elucidates aspects of the evolution of the international economy and the part played by the investment of capital and the enterprise of individuals. The study utilises the government reports and papers issued by all countries involved in the meat trade, including North and South America, Australia, New Zealand and Britain. Beginning in the nineteenth century allows a comprehensive analysis of how an efficient meat exporting industry was built. The industry required investment, which was part of the general process of economic development. Perren focuses on the nature of the firms involved with the trade, the part played in the industry's development by foreign investment and the encouragement given by governments. Close attention is also paid to the stimulus of war, the impact of animal health and food hygiene regulations on producers and the competing demands of interest groups involved in the food businesses. By taking an historical as well as a contemporary approach, the book contributes to the current discussion on the effectiveness of animal and meat inspection in identifying farm livestock diseases such as tuberculosis and BSE. This study advances our knowledge of the process of food distribution in the industrialising and post-industrial economies, and leads to a comprehensive understanding of an important component of the international food chain.