Mutual trust between German meat sector stakeholders and animal welfare and environmentalist NGOs regarding multi-stakeholder policies for sustainable meat production

Excessive meat production and consumption (especially in high-income countries) are linked to global sustainability hazards, such as climate change. Yet, sustainable meat production constitutes a wicked problem (i.e., a problem resistant to final resolution with diverging interests by relevant stakeholders) and political intervention accordingly has remained limited. To tackle wickedness, scholars recommend policy formats that embrace diversity and complexity among stakeholders, so-called MSESs. Trust is said to facilitate stakeholder cooperation and ranks among the key ingredients to and outcomes of effective MSESs. Yet, trust remains under-conceptualized in the research that foregrounds MSESs vis-a-vis sustainable meat production. Thus, to test for stakeholders’ willingness to cooperate in MSESs aimed at sustainable meat production, our research applied a seminal trust concept to probe mutual trust between core stakeholders of the meat supply chain. Focusing on Germany, we investigated the relationship between those stakeholders assumed to share rather fragile bonds (i.e., representatives of meat production and of non-governmental organizations that advocate environmental and animal welfare causes). Using semi-structured interviews we interviewed both parties about their relationship, their opinion about MSESs and their willingness to cooperate with each other in them. Interview results were triangulated with secondary data. Our findings indicate limited trust by each party with the meat sector possibly being less trusting. They also reveal characteristics that may diminish trust in the eyes of each party. Our work further indicates acceptance of MSESs by both parties and suggests core characteristics that are relevant to the success of MSESs.