No Thumbnail Available
Files
SCHUERMANS_97862100_2023.pdf
UCLouvain restricted access - Adobe PDF
- 1.62 MB
Details
- Supervisors
- Faculty
- Degree label
- Abstract
- It is today unquestionable that human activities are destroying the environment and causing climate change. All sectors are concerned, there is, however, a sector that often slips unnoticed within the environmental debates despite its enormous impact: the meat industry. This latest is indeed causing astronomic impacts. Consequently, this thesis tries to tackle the issue of the meat industry by answering the following research question: How to make the supply chain of the meat industry more sustainable? All the negative externalities generated by meat production and consumption have been identified, ranging from the consumption of natural resources to food waste and hunger passing through climate change, plastic packaging, and many others. Based on this established overview of the meat sector, we were able to identify within the existing literature as well as with empirical research, the different barriers and drivers to improve the sustainability of the meat industry. Thirteen obstacles and nineteen opportunities have been brought to light. It appears that the contribution of three types of stakeholders is essential for the transition to a more sustainable supply chain. The policymakers, actors of the chain, and consumers must take action to ensure the future of the sector. Each of these levels has its respective challenges but the results of this analysis show that their collaboration is essential to the viability of the industry. Moreover, local production has proven to be much less damaging to the environment than industrial meat. Nevertheless, this small-scale production will only ensure food enough if consumers scale down their meat consumption and adopt flexitarian diets, if policymakers adopt strong but targeted policies, and if producers look at sustainability beyond their profit.