A Specific Risk Approach to the Meat and Cured Meat Supply Chain

Livestock farming and animal production chains have been under pressure in recent years. In countries with advanced economies, the attention and sensitivity of civil society toward farming ethical issues and sustainability have grown exponentially. Such a trend influences the markets—reacting with more targeted product offers (e.g., free-range eggs)—and the communication channels—fostering news and articles on the topics released regularly. Based on claims and simplified notions, the marketing language style characterizes a large portion of the media (beyond social media), contributing to a biased representation of livestock farming and breeding and generating an inaccurate and sometimes incorrect public opinion about animal production. In point of fact, animal farming, which played a crucial role in the development of humankind, is particularly complex because of the multiple interactions with the environment and ecosystems, both positive and negative. Indeed, a robust analysis of the meat supply chain, also related to sustainability, requires a multilevel analytical rigorous approach. This book explores the supply chain through the magnifying glass of sixteen research focuses, described one by one in dedicated chapter and addressing various topics and issues, resulting in a composite analysis of sustainability in the broadest sense. This multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach provides the reader with a comprehensive overview of the many aspects that constitute the sustainability of the cured meat supply chain. Which attitudes and expectations have the younger generation towards cured meat consumption? Which are the leverages available for the farmer to improve the production process? How to overcome the critical points of the transformation phase? How to share the social responsibility of the players operating within a supply chain? How to combine social, environmental, and economic sustainability? How to adapt farming to climate change? These are just a few examples of the big questions addressed by the authors, sometimes resulting in detailed explanations and sometimes in just an admission of lack of enough knowledge and information and the need for further investigation. Fortunately, the increasing demand for more sustainable and sensitive animal production fostered the scientific research that produced significant knowledge progress. The hope is that the new acquisitions, with theoretical and practical implications, will be exploited by decision-makers because the future of animal production requires strategic short- and medium-term decisions based on scientific and technical robust information.