Re:Revenge of the Chickenized Reverse-Centaurs
by phendrenad2 on Saturday May 31, 2025 @11:42AM
(#44144990)
Maybe an independent nonprofit can do the research and score food based on how much the pipeline taking it to your table is monopolized vs democratized.
Re:Revenge of the Chickenized Reverse-Centaurs
by Lu2025 on Sunday June 01, 2025 @11:18AM
(#44151525)
Why, exactly, distributors hold so much power? They are just middlemen. Can you explain?
Re:Revenge of the Chickenized Reverse-Centaurs
by ChrisMarshallNY on Sunday June 01, 2025 @01:28PM
(#44152442)
There's probably hundreds of reasons, and a real answer is likely worthy of a graduate-level class. Like this one[0]. ;)
But we can start with the massive capital requirements of being a logistics provider. It's not something that many farmers, shopkeepers, or even medium-sized businesses could manage.
One word: “Distribution.” (The Graduate reference).
Distributors hold the most powerful hands in selling physical goods. You can’t sell something, if you can’t get it to market. These cartels (and you are hearing about them, all over. See "Big Potato"), are getting strangleholds on distribution. Amazon has turned distribution as a goad into a dark art.
That’s one reason that the Internet has upended so many industries. It’s democratized distribution of digital goods, and digital goods have become a lot more valuable (sometimes, because of the Internet). With digital goods, advertising and promotion are the new Distribution. You can’t sell your apps/music/images, if no one can find out about them.