As well as environmental and health implications there may be important social consequences
of production intensification, but these are much less well understood. Whilst there
may be positive aspects such as a greater availability of affordable, safe protein, the quality of
meat may be lower from intensive production systems in which animals are pumped with
growth promoters and antibiotics. Similarly, whilst intensive production and associated food
systems may provide important employment opportunities, it may also squeeze less competitive,
smaller producers out of markets. Whether the net social impacts of intensification are
positive or negative needs investigation and is likely to vary considerably in different contexts