The global livestock industry is indeed a product of capitalism and the drive for profit. Emel and Neo mention this huge profit motive of these huge agro-industries under capitalism, that is not dissimilar among companies across borders, as the Brazilian beef-packing company JBS is now the largest in the world, and recently bought other companies in the name of competition through capitalism, like mentioned in Moore’s reading.
From a political perspective, both the Democratic and Republican parties have weakened regulation of the food industry over time. Giant corporations have a huge say in how the government acts on food -- arguably, too much. Meanwhile, society has become dependent on these industries, which sell necessary foodstuffs, often at a cheaper value than more regulated sources of meat. For example, in the US, the FDA is notorious for approving risky ventures of these companies, like Tyson Foods, which was found in multiple cases to violate the Clean Air Act over the past decade, costing it millions in settlements and lawsuits. Even though the company caused many incidents of related diseases and even at least one death, it has defended itself from further regulation by fractioning a small portion of its profits to safeguard itself. Tyson Foods still stands as one of the largest meat producers in the world.
Ruthless competition from capitalism creates a constant quest for greater short-term profits in the global livestock industry that causes companies to squeeze out anything that may cost more money than absolutely necessary. This means that like all other companies under capitalism, workers’ rights are violated, animal rights are violated, and the community around the site suffers their intense pollution.
Some social influences from these huge corporations include the making of a material dependency on meat, where many people's’ material realities force them to consume fast food with meats from these industries more cheaply. Food deserts also contribute to this unfortunate problem, and contrary to mainstream culture-oriented theories on increasing global obesity, much of the causes of widespread obesity are these material hindrances and the domination of the capitalist state that runs on behalf of the industry. The meat industry is also upheld by a popular culture around meat consumption, through the media, popular culture, and idealization of meat on behalf of these industries. So, the lack of options for people come directly out of capitalism and re-enforces the power of these companies which, in turn, bolsters capitalism.
Even if people do get the government to take a firm stand against corporate decisions, like halting production of genetically modified foods, as long as these corporations are privately owned under capitalism they will need to uphold their short-term profits as much as possible within the highly competitive food market, so they will keep finding loopholes in laws. Ultimately, the most effective option is having employees take biotech and agribusiness corporations into public ownership and democratically running it themselves. Unions are doing this at a minute scale, so it is important to support them, understanding that they are not all helpful and democratic. So, individual decisions are not going to make a difference, as long as capitalism exists, corporations will always be looking to cheap and exploit. If one would like better food options, a cleaner environment, and a stable globe in the future, it is necessary for society to be reorganized entirely.
To conclude, Moore correctly critiques capitalism through the political-ecological lens, noting its profit motive and the detriment to the environment as key factors of it. Giant global livestock industries take a large role in this detriment, harming all living things in its path. Webster’s dictionary defines capitalism as: “been generally characterized by a tendency toward concentration of wealth, and in its later phase, by the growth of great corporations.” Indeed, Webster’s Dictionary correctly states the dominating force behind the huge industrial impact on the environment today. Through taking a stand against these corporations through a Socialist platform, the problems capitalism creates will go away.
