Study title

United Kingdom

Individual

Organization

The research combined desk-based research with in-depth interviews with a range of companies and organizations working within meat supply networks. The desk-based research included: 1) a review of publicly available international, governmental and industry AMR policies and guidelines pertaining to pig and chicken meat supply networks; 2) a review of the social science AMR literature; 3) analysis of AMR coverage in the UK media; 4) experimental use of publicly available data to create dynamic maps within which UK retail purchases, UK supply networks, resistance figures for meat and carcasses in supplying countries (where available), and average antibiotic use in supply countries (where available) were plotted. The empirical research was conducted across two phases. In Phase One, we met with persons charged with developing, implementing and monitoring AMR policies for the major UK retailers. This included: interviews with nine of the UK top ten supermarkets, including seventeen people working as agricultural managers, technical directors, microbiologists, product safety and quality assurance directors and managers, and corporate responsibility and sustainability management; four interviews with nine people from eight industry bodies, including those tasked with developing, communicating or monitoring AMR related policies in practice; and consultations with seven staff from three policy-making bodies. In Phase Two, we extended our research across food networks and met meat processors, manufacturer representatives, farmers, trade bodies and others to further unpack how AMR emerges, is encountered, and is responded to at different nodes in food networks. This included: thirteen interviews with farmers via the Farm Business Survey; three interviews with processors including representatives working across production, health and welfare, research and development, and technical; two telephone meetings with two of the trade bodies for manufacturers; and three other meetings, including with representatives of a consultancy firm working across meat supply chains, and a campaigning organization; five conferences attended at which we met and interacted with people working on AMR across human and animal health, in industry, in policy and in academia. Across the project we conducted 44 formal interviews with 62 people from 38 organisations. These interviews included interviewees who were involved with two other industry bodies that we did not speak to separately.