Abstract
Rapid increases in meat trade generate complex global networks across countries. However, there has been little research quantifying the dynamics of meat trade networks and the underlying forces that structure them. Using longitudinal network data for 134 countries from 1995 to 2015, we combined network modeling and cluster analysis to simultaneously identify the structural changes in meat trade networks and the factors that influence the networks themselves. The integrated network approach uncovers a general consolidation of global meat trade networks over time, although some global events may have weakened this consolidation both regionally and globally. In consolidated networks, the presence of trade agreements and short geographic distances between pairs of countries are associated with increases in meat trade. Countries with rapid population and income growth greatly depend on meat imports. Furthermore, countries with high food availability import large quantities of meat products to satisfy their various meat preferences. The findings from this network approach provide key insights that can be used to better understand the social and environmental consequences of increasing global meat trade.
Highlights
Rapid increases in meat trade generate complex global networks across countries
The combined use of cluster analysis and mixed-effects modeling provides a comprehensive perspective of the dynamics of meat trade networks
Per capita gross domestic product (GDP) has a positive impact on the quantities of meat imports after 2008, but these coefficients have high uncertainty
Summary
Rapid increases in meat trade generate complex global networks across countries. there has been little research quantifying the dynamics of meat trade networks and the underlying forces that structure them. Countries with high food availability import large quantities of meat products to satisfy their various meat preferences The findings from this network approach provide key insights that can be used to better understand the social and environmental consequences of increasing global meat trade. Over the last two decades, the number of trade agreements between countries has rapidly increased due to economic and political benefits in the era of globalization[15], but their impacts on the structure of global meat trade networks are unclear It is uncertain whether increases in meat trade contribute to enhanced food availability in low-income countries[16]. Network analysis provides a comprehensive way to quantify the network structures of meat trade over time and uncover underlying drivers in both sending and receiving countries.
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