19 ms·

Large agribusiness do other deplorable stuff - i.e. letting cows die and collecting insurance instead of treating them, etc...

ptaipale 10y ago
From what I've seen, letting cows die or mistreating them is a much worse problem in small agribusiness. This of course depends on local regulation and legislation. But at least over here (northern EU), the bureaucracy is heavy and requirements quite strong. Large-scale farming units have internal processes and they have more resources; there are many people doing the work with more thorough official oversight. Small-scale animal care, i.e. family or single-person farms, may be dependent on one person only. When illness - particularly mental illness - or old age kicks in, the animals may be neglected or mistreated in abhorrent ways. On the other hand, small-scale agribusiness is also where the best animal care can be seen, there is actually an emotional bond between the carer and the animals. Bad care is eventually caught because when you can't treat your animals well, you won't do your paperwork either. However, it is a strain on small farms as there is a fixed overhead in paperwork that is not much dependent on farm size, so there's a lot more to do per animal on small farms and thus there is more work/cost.
ensignavenger 10y ago
Any citation for this? If this was actually a widespread practice, I would think their insurance premiums would be prohibitively expensive!
- JanezStupar 10y ago
  Anecdotal observation. It is a public secret amongst farmers where I live.
  - ensignavenger 10y ago
    I suppose it is possible that large agribusinesses where you live do this... it is also possible that the small farmers near you have an axe to grind with their larger competition, and/or are open to accepting and spreading gossip and rumors without much basis in reality.
    - JanezStupar 10y ago
      But you don't think it's possible that all the incentives are geared towards this kind of behavior?
      - ensignavenger 10y ago
        That is certainly a possibility! I didn't mean to imply it wasn't. I did a some quick looking and if your in the US, the USDA guarantees livestock insurance, this likely results in a distortion of the risk and perhaps shifts the incentives towards this sort of behavior. But I would caution against taking rumor and gossip as strong supporting evidence.

ptaipale 10y ago

From what I've seen, letting cows die or mistreating them is a much worse problem in small agribusiness. This of course depends on local regulation and legislation. But at least over here (northern EU), the bureaucracy is heavy and requirements quite strong. Large-scale farming units have internal processes and they have more resources; there are many people doing the work with more thorough official oversight. Small-scale animal care, i.e. family or single-person farms, may be dependent on one person only. When illness - particularly mental illness - or old age kicks in, the animals may be neglected or mistreated in abhorrent ways. On the other hand, small-scale agribusiness is also where the best animal care can be seen, there is actually an emotional bond between the carer and the animals. Bad care is eventually caught because when you can't treat your animals well, you won't do your paperwork either. However, it is a strain on small farms as there is a fixed overhead in paperwork that is not much dependent on farm size, so there's a lot more to do per animal on small farms and thus there is more work/cost.

ensignavenger 10y ago

Any citation for this? If this was actually a widespread practice, I would think their insurance premiums would be prohibitively expensive!

JanezStupar 10y ago
Anecdotal observation. It is a public secret amongst farmers where I live.
- ensignavenger 10y ago
  I suppose it is possible that large agribusinesses where you live do this... it is also possible that the small farmers near you have an axe to grind with their larger competition, and/or are open to accepting and spreading gossip and rumors without much basis in reality.
  - JanezStupar 10y ago
    But you don't think it's possible that all the incentives are geared towards this kind of behavior?
    - ensignavenger 10y ago
      That is certainly a possibility! I didn't mean to imply it wasn't. I did a some quick looking and if your in the US, the USDA guarantees livestock insurance, this likely results in a distortion of the risk and perhaps shifts the incentives towards this sort of behavior. But I would caution against taking rumor and gossip as strong supporting evidence.