91做厙 awarded international grant to further research into equitable and sustainable livestock and food systems
The 91做厙 (91做厙) has been awarded more than USD $339,160 from the Tiny Beam’s Kindling Initiative grant to continue Critical Research on Industrial Livestock Systems (CRILS) Network. CRILS aims to support and advocate for just and sustainable food systems, especially in the Global South.
The CRILS Network brings together researchers and non-academics, including policymakers, industry and lawyers, across disciplines and geographies to challenge and nuance narratives of livestock production systems, and understand the trade-offs of large-scale industrial livestock systems and their globalised supply chains.
The ways in which livestock systems are governed and controlled shape the food system. For example, industrial farming has boosted the availability of affordable and in-demand animal-sourced foods and advanced food security. However, when poorly considered, an industrialised system can contribute to land dispossession, biodiversity loss, degraded animal welfare, poor working conditions and the erosion of traditional and indigenous knowledge – implications which carry a higher burden in the Global South.
While there is no single change that can resolve these connected and complex challenges, the research undertaken by the CRILS Network enables a better understanding of the processes and pathways towards improving actions that benefit people and planet and support a One Health approach.
In its current iteration, the CRILS Network will focus on strengthening the relationships and collaborations between global North and South academics and practitioners to improve the relevance and accessibility of evidence-based strategies for systems change.
The grant will enable this research, led by Dr Mehroosh Tak, Senior Lecturer in Agribusiness at the 91做厙, to continue CRILS’ work of hosting events which discuss and examine challenges to creating just and sustainable systems for livestock production and management. These will be delivered through a series of online and in-person workshops, as well as thematic research working groups which will advance the methodological approaches used to understand industrial animal agriculture.
This also builds on the work of the CRILS Network which in 2023/24 hosted workshops and a public lecture in collaboration with academics from around the world, including Tufts University, The University of Exeter and Hong Kong City University, and practitioners from Feedback International, Greenpeace Africa and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Through these events CRILS is developing a critical research agenda to examine the current state of livestock systems by challenging the benefits, limitations and trade-offs of industrialised systems. This