More on CAFOs
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
BB asks:
I am doing research on the support of CAFO’s by the federal government. I understand that there are direct subsidies given to concentrated farms (EQIP, etc.), but those subsidies seems minimal relative to the indirect grain subsidies that CAFO’s receive. If Obama were to substantially decrease indirect subsidies to CAFOs, do you think that would send CAFO’s packing, and create a transition to a mid-size or sustainable farming community in America?
I said:
I think that land use/water quality drives the CAFO phenomenon, i.e., if there was a limit on waste/wastewater generation then there would be fewer CAFOs. Obviously, this is a regulatory/property rights issue — and I think that CAFOs exist mainly because there is a gap in the law that does not prevent their concentration.
More expensive food would not change the scale economies of CAFOs…
What do you all think?
