Assessing the Sustainability of Meat Transport Mode Choices in Abattoir Logistics Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process

This paper is an attempt to review the compliance of abattoirs in developing country cities to global sustainability requirements. Some unsustainable abattoir operations in developing country cities, as it relates to logistics and meat transport, have been discussed and their implications were identified. The study disclosed how poor meat quality could be as a result of bad choices in the mode of transportation and distribution of the meat. Four modes were identified, considered and compared in this review and they include; pedestrian carriage, motorcycles, open vans, and refrigerated cooling vans. To ensure that the triple bottom line of sustainable development was met, meat safety/hygiene, reduced transport cost, reduced CO2 emissions, and reduced stress on labourers were the four major performance indicators used in the assessment of the efficiency of each mode. Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), the sustainability of the four modes were assessed systematically and simultaneously. The paper strongly recommends the refrigerated cooling van as the best mode option for meat transport, with benefits up to 40% above each of the other modes.