Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Impact of Production and Consumption of Beef on Communities Along Beef Supply Chains

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

This project will examine how the production and consumption of beef affects the environmental impacts of air pollution on communities that contribute to the production of beef. The research will measure and analyze the impacts of beef production at multiple locations in the supply chain, and assess how stakeholders including corporations, governments, and non-government organizations contribute to the decision-making and process in the production of beef. The knowledge gained from this research will provide these stakeholders knowledge that will enable decision-making about beef production that reduces environmental burdens on affected communities. The research asks two interrelated questions: (1) how is air pollution and related health impacts of the beef supply chains distributed among local communities? and (2) how do different types of governance processes lead to different environmental outcomes? This study will use a novel methodology that integrates location-based life cycle assessment methods with socio-economic data and social network analysis to quantify air quality impacts and mitigation interventions in each phase of the beef supply chain. The results of this research will provide potentially transformative methods to sustainability science that can be used broadly to study environmental and social impacts of other product supply chains. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.