Developing science–industry collaborations into a transdisciplinary process: a case study on improving sustainability of pork production

Abstract

Sustainability of livestock farming is not only part of intensive public debate, but also refers to a multi-stakeholder field comprising many different interests and worldviews. Beyond the environmental, economic and social dimensions of livestock farming, especially animal welfare should be considered as an essential aspect of sustainability. Such sustainability issues may be successfully addressed by transdisciplinary research. Science–industry collaborations in the realm of livestock sciences do have the potential for becoming successful transdisciplinary projects if project partners are aware of the challenges and limitations. In the light of this situation the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna and an Austrian food retailer launched a collaborative research project. The main objective of the project was to develop measures to improve sustainability of current pig fattening systems with a special focus on animal welfare. These measures were subsequently implemented on three pig fattening farms in Austria and the effects on animal welfare, economic and environmental performance as well as the farmers’ perception were evaluated. In this paper, the research process will be analysed from a transdisciplinary perspective, identifying differences between transdisciplinarity and different forms of applied research. This is followed by a discussion of challenges and failures as well as opportunities and achievements of the project concluding with a presentation of recommendations for further research projects. Finally, it is discussed to which extent industry-funded research offers suitable conditions for transdisciplinary research projects in pork production using the present project as a case study.