Quote:
Originally Posted by Scucca  He's demanding product which generates greater global warming damage. That is a social cost! Whilst he'll pay more because of the higher costs for the farmer, he should be forced to pay even more for the damage he inflicts on the rest of us |
Ok, lets accept the premise that organic chicken results in significantly more greenhouse gasses than the big chicken house operations do.
That is only one factor as to which form of chicken farming results in a greater cost to society. For example, how much groundwater pollution typically results from chickenhouses? What about air pollution? You ever smelled one? The smell alone of a big commercial chickenhouse is by far the worst thing you have every smelled in your life.
I would wager that even with the higher greenhouse gas emissions, on balance, the environmental impacts of organic chicken farming is much lower than traditional chickenhouses. If thats the case, then it would be poor public policy to try to discourage organic chicken farming.