"The good the bad and the ugly" was the theme for the annual staff meeting of the International Livestock Research Institute in April 2010.
The global media regularly present a very different view of livestock as “polluters of the planet”. ILRI felt it time to address this issue head on and consider both the negative and positive elements of livestock production and how these differ in the developed north and the developing south. In the run-up to the meeting the organisers conducted a quick survey to get participants thinking about the issues. At the meeting itself participants engaged in an extended dialogue on livestock 'goods and bads' using a range of formats. The survey was repeated after the meeting.
Although results were reasonably consistent before and after the meeting, some of the opinions did change. For example, the perception that in global terms livestock are a pathway out of poverty was significantly eroded following the meeting. There was also a tendency for increased awareness of zoonotic disease as a livestock bad. You can look at the survey here.
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