Dangerous Liaisons : Unveiling the Co-Constitution of Emerging Infectious Diseases and Industrial Meat Production
(2025) In Antipode 57(4). p.1320-1341- Abstract
Outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) have intensified over the last decade, spotlighting the concept of “epicentre” as a means of locating disease origins. Although epicentre thinking can facilitate rapid interventions, it often overlooks the political-economic and ecological forces driving outbreaks. Drawing on critical geography, political ecology, and global supply chain analyses, we reconceptualise the epicentre as “a set of relations rather than a place”, emphasising how capitalist production, ecological disruption, and pathogen circulation intersect. From this relational standpoint, epicentres emerge as intersections of multiple capitals, rather than isolated points. Using HPAI in global poultry production as an... (More)
Outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) have intensified over the last decade, spotlighting the concept of “epicentre” as a means of locating disease origins. Although epicentre thinking can facilitate rapid interventions, it often overlooks the political-economic and ecological forces driving outbreaks. Drawing on critical geography, political ecology, and global supply chain analyses, we reconceptualise the epicentre as “a set of relations rather than a place”, emphasising how capitalist production, ecological disruption, and pathogen circulation intersect. From this relational standpoint, epicentres emerge as intersections of multiple capitals, rather than isolated points. Using HPAI in global poultry production as an illustration, we argue that biosecurity measures shaped by epicentre thinking often bolster industrial expansion while deflecting systemic critique. We conclude with a five-point research agenda for a relational geographical approach to disease outbreaks, highlighting turnover times, cost and risk distribution, producer incorporation, labour regimes, and governance mechanisms.
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- author
- Aguilar-Støen, Mariel ; Jakobsen, Jostein ; Barbesgaard, Mads LU ; Rutt, Rebecca Leigh and Eldevik-Stjernqvist, Ada
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- agrarian change, development, epicentre, global circuits of capital, poultry production
- in
- Antipode
- volume
- 57
- issue
- 4
- pages
- 22 pages
- publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105001951866
- ISSN
- 0066-4812
- DOI
- 10.1111/anti.70021
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- b8e53a83-8dd7-4786-bdba-d7bde91104d6
- date added to LUP
- 2025-09-03 13:10:07
- date last changed
- 2025-09-03 13:11:14
@article{b8e53a83-8dd7-4786-bdba-d7bde91104d6,
abstract = {{<p>Outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) have intensified over the last decade, spotlighting the concept of “epicentre” as a means of locating disease origins. Although epicentre thinking can facilitate rapid interventions, it often overlooks the political-economic and ecological forces driving outbreaks. Drawing on critical geography, political ecology, and global supply chain analyses, we reconceptualise the epicentre as “a set of relations rather than a place”, emphasising how capitalist production, ecological disruption, and pathogen circulation intersect. From this relational standpoint, epicentres emerge as intersections of multiple capitals, rather than isolated points. Using HPAI in global poultry production as an illustration, we argue that biosecurity measures shaped by epicentre thinking often bolster industrial expansion while deflecting systemic critique. We conclude with a five-point research agenda for a relational geographical approach to disease outbreaks, highlighting turnover times, cost and risk distribution, producer incorporation, labour regimes, and governance mechanisms.</p>}},
author = {{Aguilar-Støen, Mariel and Jakobsen, Jostein and Barbesgaard, Mads and Rutt, Rebecca Leigh and Eldevik-Stjernqvist, Ada}},
issn = {{0066-4812}},
keywords = {{agrarian change; development; epicentre; global circuits of capital; poultry production}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{4}},
pages = {{1320--1341}},
publisher = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
series = {{Antipode}},
title = {{Dangerous Liaisons : Unveiling the Co-Constitution of Emerging Infectious Diseases and Industrial Meat Production}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/anti.70021}},
doi = {{10.1111/anti.70021}},
volume = {{57}},
year = {{2025}},
}