independence in other forms

this is taken from this month’s harpers. it’s about pig farmers:

Show-pig breeders, who select for attributes like disease resistance and aesthetic appeal, maintain asmall but crucial well of genetic diversity. John Mabry, director of the Iowa Pork Industry Center, says that since big farms started taking over, the number of independent breeders has plummeted (…) Wheras industry geneticists strive for uniformity and move in roughly the same direction, chasing the market, show-pig breeders make decisions based on personal judgement, intuition, and, sometimes, whimsy. In the past, when large companies found they had overbred their swine, they have dipped into this well of genetic diversity to revitalize their herds.
“The impact of independents has been invaluable,” Malbry said. “We never would have gotten to where we are without them.” (….) The only sure way to maintain diversity in pigs is to maintain diversity in farmers.