Strengthening pathways to action for just and sustainable livestock systems.
CRILS is an inclusive network that brings together academics and civil society through a series of workshops. Join us and share your ideas to further this critical agenda.
Why this network?
How livestock systems are governed and controlled matters because it shapes the food system. An industrial livestock system is characterised by low genetic diversity and, in some cases, high stocking density, vertical integration, and/or corporate consolidation. However, industrial farming has also boosted the availability of affordable and in-demand animal-sourced foods and advanced food security. Intensive systems are proposed as a solution to address animal-sourced food demand in a land-sparing manner, among some communities. But at what cost and for whom?
The externalities of industrialised livestock production systems may heighten vulnerability to pandemic threats, food insecurity and climate change. The burden of which can be higher in the Global South. Poorly considered industrialised systems can contribute to land dispossession, biodiversity loss, degraded animal welfare, poor working conditions, and the erosion of traditional and indigenous knowledge among other effects.
The CRILS Network provides a platform to facilitate nuanced conversations on the impacts of industrial livestock production on our food systems.
If you’re interested in co-developing or sharing the network with other interested people, please click here to read more about ways of getting involved in the CRILS Network.
Our Goals
The Critical Research on Industrial Livestock Systems (CRILS) Network aims to understand the trade-offs of large-scale, industrial livestock systems and to use available evidence to advocate for just and sustainable food systems, especially in the Global South. The network brings together researchers and non-academics including civil society, activists, policy-makers, industry actors, and lawyers among others, to challenge and nuance narratives of livestock production systems.
Connect researchers
We aim to connect researchers in a supportive research environment to share ideas and disseminate research on improving or challenging industrial livestock systems. The network will platform early-career participants and participants from marginalised communities, and research conducted in Global South settings by local actors. We need nuanced and diversified knowledge bases to contribute to existing research narratives on industrialised animal agriculture.
Connect academics and frontline workers
Much of academic research remains within academic boundaries, behind paywalls and/or written in inaccessible and jargon-filled language. We aim to connect researchers with non-academic actors (lawyers, activists, campaigners, workers, journalists, industry professionals and community organisers) for bi-directional learning to improve the relevance and accessibility of research.
Strengthen pathways to actions
There is no single action or outcome that will transform livestock systems. Instead, the CRILS Network will provide a fertile ground to understand the processes and pathways towards improving action. In its current iteration, the CRILS Network aims to focus on research dissemination and connecting academic researchers and non-academic actors to improve research impact and develop evidence-based strategies for systems change.
Our Actions
How will we achieve these goals?
CRILS will run a series of interactive workshops online and in person to facilitate an open and organic space for researchers and change-makers to connect, cross-pollinate ideas, and share tactics. Additionally, we will provide support for developing skills in research dissemination.
CRILS is committed to ensuring this process is participatory and that the spaces and events we host are free of bigotry, oppression, and brutality in all forms.
In person at RVC in London
Workshop: 16th & 17th April
Public Lecture: 16th April 2024
IN-PERSON WORKSHOP
The CRILS Network hosted a two-day, in-person workshop to bring academics and non-academics together on the 16th and 17th of April 2024, at the Royal Veterinary College, London, United Kingdom.
The event was paired with the CRILS Public Lecture: Industrial Animal Agriculture in the Polycrisis Era.
Join our interactive online sessions to share and discuss your work
ONLINE WORKSHOPS
CRILS will host a series of online workshops consisting of open discussions and training sessions to share skills and experiences of translating research into action. The workshops will cross-pollinate ideas between academic and non-academic actors, enabling participants to strengthen their research practice.
If you’re interested in co-developing an online workshop or supporting the CRILS Network, please click here. If you’d like to suggest an idea or presenter for an online workshop, submit an idea here.
PAST: Rethinking Animal Welfare
Advocating for animal welfare to reform or challenge industrial livestock systems requires localised and adaptable strategies that engage a wide range of actors, from farm workers and retailers to children coming to terms with the ethics of eating animals. Bidirectional knowledge exchange between European and African contexts can increase the chance of success. Animal welfare advancements in East Africa’s rapidly expanding industrial animal farming sectors need to be Africa-led.
This CRILS workshop was co-organised by Prof. Christine Nicol (Royal Veterinary College), Judy Muriithi (Lawyers for Animal Protection, Africa) and Dr Victor Yamo (International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)).
Click below to access the recording, presentations and further readings.
PAST: Global Capital and Big Livestock
The flow of global capital administered by corporate regimes and international financial institutions has created asymmetries of power and increased corporate concentration, shifting the way animal-sourced foods are produced and consumed. The workshop will unpack how global finance and corporate consolidation shape livestock systems.
This CRILS workshop was co-organised by Kezia Kershaw and Bianca Ines-Pedro (Stop Financing Factory Farming Campaign) and Mehroosh Tak (CRILS, RVC).
Click below to access the recording, presentations and further readings.
Aquaculture: A new frontier in food colonialism
Aquaculture is often plugged as a ‘sustainable solution’ to relieving the burden of overfishing, climate change, and ecological damage on ocean life. A new report by Feedback and a coalition of West African and Norwegian organisations including Greenpeace Africa, reveals how the Norwegian salmon industry’s voracious appetite for wild fish is driving loss of livelihoods and malnutrition in West Africa, creating a new type of food colonialism. Their research shows that every year, nearly 2 million tonnes of wild fish are extracted from the ocean to feed Norwegian farmed salmon. This session will explore the ethical and environmental impacts of the Norwegian salmon farming industry on the Global South.
Presentations from Amelia Cookson (Feedback) and Dr Aliou Ba (Greenpeace Africa). Facilitated by Mindi Schneider (Brown University).
29th May | 13:00-15:00 UTC
TBC: The Politics of Meat
3rd June | Time TBC