A quick disclosure - I work at MSU and did my graduate education at U-M, so
this response pretty Midwest focused, and includes names I know as a
privilege of my job and schooling. There are many great researchers out
there pursuing aspects of agroecology/sustainability in the food production
system that I am not mentioning, though they certainly have had significant
contributions to the field.
Before you start to try to reinvent the wheel, there is a strong and ongoing
literature around sustainable, agriculture, and a growing one on meat
production.
As far as ecologists in the field, try starting with the authors of
Agroecology textbooks and the new International Assessment of Agricultural
Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development [IAASTD] report: Steve
Gliessman, John Vandermeer, Peter Rosset, Ivette Perfecto to name just a
few. Many scientists that might be classified as agricultural researchers
are strongly utilizing ecological knowledge - check out the long-term
ecological research site in agriculture at MSU with many well-known
researchers like Sieg Snapp and Phil Robertson. Look to the land-grant
institutions with strong agroecologically-based programs for more about
sustainable meat production. Here at MSU, we have cattle grazing ecologist
Satiago Utsumi. There are also many social science researchers looking at
ag technology adoption, political ecology, and the renewing of ancestral
skills... that is another set of literature that I am less familiar with,
but can mention recent influential public economics writer Raj Patel and
political ecologist Jahi Chappell.
Most traditional animal science departments are wary of ecological-based
production methods, opting in the past to focus on feed efficiency and
disease management, but there is a growing willingness to consider many
alternatives. Remember that research funding is tighter than ever, so
industry groups influence what can be researched in academia. Yet, the
majority of cattle producers are still small - it's not until later
consolidation in the production model that most cattle could be considered
industrial. Anyone familiar with sustainable poultry, pork and other meat
production, please chime in.
In addition to the above mentions, Iowa State, University of
Wisconsin-Madison, UC Santa Cruz, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, Cornell, and many
other institutions have strong faculty in agroecology... you just need to do
a little searching and you'll find a surprising amount of ecologists working
in the agricultural venue - a few hundred are registered in the ESA
Agroecology section. However, I would say that people researching more
sustainable meat production are underrepresented and this field presents a
lot of potential with both consumer preferences and the price of fuel in
flux. It deserves to be said that in places where grazing animals is one of
the sole sources of local food for humans (e.g. areas of Africa), the
approach to and importance of both raising and sustaining animals is very
different.
There are many reports recently out that calculate the toll of raising meat
that appear to be much more objective than interest-group led efforts. FAO's
recent Livestock in a changing landscape may be of interest.
Julie Cotton
Academic Specialist
Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems
Michigan State University
