174 E Cudworth memberships and the influence on national and international policy agendas may suggest possibilities for change Yet at this time of writing, two unsettling processes are at work First, concerns for animal welfare or environmental damage by livestock farming appear insignificant in the face of development driven by multinational corporations Thus we see that the feedlot system continues to be exported in beef farming, and intensive dairy farming pioneered in the US, where cattle are kept permanently inside, in small stalls has been adopted in European Union countries Key targets for Western-based agricultural corporations in the near future however are parts of the Indian subcontinent and Africa Second, a very small but notable development in some Western countries (the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden) has been research and development activity around ‘in vitro meat’ This involves the growth of muscle tissue in laboratories with the intention of developing it for consumption as food Advocates, such as the ‘In Vitro Meat Consortium’ or the campaigning group ‘New Harvest’, promote IV meat as a solution to the problems of animal cruelty and environmental damage caused by meat production by animal farming IV meat is promoted as a social good, able to reduce pollution, deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions associated with livestock production methods (Porcher 2014; Stephens 2010) Yet even the economic assessments undertaken for the In Vitro Meat Consortium suggest that this ‘meat’ will be intended for the high end niche market in Western countries, priced above free range organic meat products (Stephens 2010) As such, it seems an unlikely element of a solution to food poverty in developing countries In addition, the production techniques suggest that IV meat production would place pressure on water resources, raising questions about the environmentalist credentials of this new technology Both these future scenarios suggest that the production and consumption of meat remains firmly within research, development and policy scenarios, despite the increasing presence of critical voices Conclusion This chapter has described and critiqued the historical processes and current constitution of the global animal food industries involved with the breeding and raising of some domesticate animals for food The development of animal breeding techniques and methods of animal raising which have resulted in intensive production systems are currently spreading apace across