In my research I've found that were I'm lacking is in the counter argument.
Almost every article I've come across has been everything bad associated with big business take-over of organic farming. Even the peer read through in class gave me the side I've been seeing all across the internet; "Big business takeover is bad". Everybody is giving ways to stop it or fix it, but that wasn't my initial question nor what I want to focus on. I'm curious to the actual effects this takeover is having on farmer America as well as consumers and the earth. I want to know if it's really THAT bad, like everyone seems to believe, and if it IS this bad, I want to hear a counter argument.
In Food Inc., the CEO of Stonyfield, an organic dairy company that was bought out by Danone, argues that the future for a healthy world RELIES on big business participation, and that essentially, the more players you have in the organic business, the better. I want to see more articles like that. I want to hear more than just one company give me a really fleshed out and detailed take on the good side of big business takeover. Because after a brief glance at the Stonyfield website, it seems pretty clear to me that the company has maintained their ethics and values, all the heart and soul that is so important in organic farming. The original founders have even remained in command of the company, and they appear to take great care in the treatment of their animals, workers, customers, and product.
So my question is, if Stonyfield seems to be handling the takeover so effectively and advocating for these big businesses, why is it that so many companies run into problems? Why is it that almost every investigative report on the matter that I've read seems to focus on purely the negatives surrounding the matter? Maybe things aren't how they appear in Stonyfield. Or maybe these other companies are having a hard time digesting the possibility of good ethic and morality in a big company. As a Stonyfield executive in Food Inc. explained, the organic market isn't an exclusive club, and maybe the issue is with smaller companies seeing the market as such.
I couldn't agree more with what you have to say. I feel that a lot of the articles and stories about food waste (my research topic) talk about the whole debacle and how wasting food is bad, but I am already aware of this. I want REAL in depth talk about different sides of the story, not just one point of view telling me what I already know. It's possible that there is just not enough light shed on my topic and that the info I seek is too far out there, but I cannot accept this. The search continues for the best information out there!
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