This article was first published by the Food Ethics Council, Volume 2, Issue 4. Winter 2007.

The Food and Agriculture Organization is right to be nervous about the environmental and social consequences of the expanding world demand it projects for livestock products. However, it should be more worried about negative feedbacks - for example food-borne illness and animal disease -  that may stop the meteoric rise of the meat and dairy industry. This article explains why it is in everyone's interest to ensure that international trade in this sector is better governed,