Summary
This ethnographic study examines the intersection of just-in-time commercial pressures and biosecurity practices in UK poultry production, arguing that these conditions create an ecology particularly conducive to Campylobacter amplification and spread. Drawing on fieldwork across the poultry supply chain, the authors characterise industrial poultry production as a relational economy of disease, where the very practices designed to control and intensify production paradoxically generate greater disease insecurity.
Regional applicability
The study is grounded in UK poultry production systems and UK food safety epidemiology (Campylobacter as the main reported bacterial cause of foodborne illness). The findings are directly applicable to UK policy and practice regarding intensive poultry regulation, biosecurity standards, and just-in-time supply chain models.
Key measures
Qualitative analysis of supply chain practices, biosecurity protocols, and disease dynamics; Campylobacter as main reported cause of food poisoning in UK (>100 deaths annually at time of writing)
Outcomes reported
The study examined how just-in-time production pressures and biosecurity practices in poultry supply chains create conditions for Campylobacter amplification and spread. It characterises industrial poultry production as a relational economy of disease where production control paradoxically increases disease insecurity.
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