The Dublin Declaration is a pro-livestock statement that emerged from a Summit held in Ireland on the societal role of meat. While the Declaration has had influence in EU spaces, it has also attracted considerable criticism for its limited engagement with the climate, nature and social implications of the current livestock system, and for its authors’ apparent connections to the meat industry. Irina Herzon, who co-authored a response to the Declaration published in Nature Food in August, argues that, irrespective of those connections, the Declaration provides an example of a flawed scientific advocacy that should make us wary. Here, she sets out how selective evidence and unwarranted polarisation can compromise the integrity of academic engagement. 

In this blog, Jack Thompson traces the supply chain of his family farm’s wheat to UK cereal manufacturer, Weetabix. In mapping every stage, he reveals where power is concentrated in arable farming: seed monopolies, fertiliser companies, machinery companies and grain merchants. He argues that this consolidation of agribusiness is driving not only environmental and social harm, but is a leading reason for the farmer protests in Europe. This article was originally published in Vittles, an online magazine based in the UK and India, publishing new food and culture writing. It was written by TABLE's research and communications officer, Jack Thompson.