A coalition of [torturers] gathered in the nation’s capital this week to fight federal efforts aimed at blocking state laws that promote humane, crate-free treatment of livestock.
While it sounds contradictory, it’s very simple.
The small players like “family farms” can not compete with the big corporations. The strategy for the small players has shifted to more “added value labels” like organic, local, free range etc. That label allows them to justify, on the market, much higher prices for the product. In reality, it’s mostly bullshit, especially when it comes to animal farming.
Big players can also engage in this humanewashing and ethicswashing, but they don’t put enough effort in it and usually try to redefine the standards/regulations instead, which is easier. They basically give the game away, demonstrating that it’s bullshit.
Remember, welfarism is a dead end. Animal-welfare-labelled meat is not a stepping stone to animal-free diets: empirical evidence from a survey: Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy: Vol 14 , No 1 - Get Access.