“Out of the Soil”: The Origin Stories of Big Agribusiness

• In Event: Corporate Crime in the U.S. and Europe

Abstract

Despite massive documented harms to nonhuman animals, small farmers, consumers, and ecological environments, agribusinesses present themselves as good corporate citizens. They do so in part by telling origin stories that recount humble beginnings. By drawing on neoliberal discourses and metaphors of organic growth, these stories naturalize and thus legitimize harmful actions. This paper deconstructs the origin stories found on a sample of the websites of the largest agribusinesses in the US. Along with company founders, time and work are key ‘actors’ in the tale of the virtuous corporation. We contend that these origin stories play a role in stupefying the public, thus promoting tolerance of mass harm.

Authors

• Jennifer Schally, Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg

• Lois Presser, University of Tennessee