IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v176y2022i4d10.1007_s10551-020-04666-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Milking It for All It’s Worth: Unpalatable Practices, Dairy Cows and Veterinary Work?

Author

Listed:
  • Caroline Clarke

    (Open University Business School)

  • David Knights

    (Lancaster University Management School
    Oxford University Business School)

Abstract

Viewing animals as a disposable resource is by no means novel, but does milking the cow for all its worth now represent a previously unimaginable level of exploitation? New technology has intensified milk production fourfold over the last 50 years, rendering the cow vulnerable to various and frequent clinical interventions deemed necessary to meet the demands for dairy products. A major question is whether or not the veterinary code of practice fits, or is in ethical tension, with the administration of ‘efficient’ techniques, such as artificial insemination, to enhance reproduction levels among cattle? Vets perform these interventions and their ‘success’ is measured by the maximisation of milk production, requiring perpetually pregnant cows. Our empirical research on 33 farm vets explores how their professional ethical code promising to protect the welfare of the animal ‘above all else’, is increasingly in conflict with, and subordinate to, the financial demands of clients. Since vets cannot stand outside of the productive power–knowledge relations that have intensified the consumption of animal bodily parts and secretions, we argue that a process of adiaphorization’ (Bauman and Lyon, Liquid surveillance, Polity Press, Cambridge, 2013, p. 8) occurs, whereby humans become morally indifferent to cruel practices deemed necessary to our consumerist ways of life. However, this indifference reflects and reinforces a taken-for-granted anthropocentrism among vets, animal owners and the population generally. We suggest that posthumanist ideas may offer new insights for the study of human–animal relations in organisations that transcend the coercive and negative impact of discourses that deny any alternative to prevailing farm/veterinary practices. Our study has major implications in relation to climate warming and zoonotic diseases, both partly derived from our unethical relationship to animals, that are increasingly threatening our, and their, lives.

Suggested Citation

  • Caroline Clarke & David Knights, 2022. "Milking It for All It’s Worth: Unpalatable Practices, Dairy Cows and Veterinary Work?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 176(4), pages 673-688, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:176:y:2022:i:4:d:10.1007_s10551-020-04666-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-020-04666-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-020-04666-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-020-04666-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John Van Maanen, 2011. "Ethnography as Work: Some Rules of Engagement," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1), pages 218-234, January.
    2. Caroline Clarke & David Knights, 2019. "Who's a good boy then? Anthropocentric masculinities in veterinary practice," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 267-287, April.
    3. Christian Huber & Iain Munro, 2014. "“Moral Distance” in Organizations: An Inquiry into Ethical Violence in the Works of Kafka," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(2), pages 259-269, October.
    4. Benatar, D., 2007. "The chickens come home to roost," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 97(9), pages 1545-1546.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Anja Schulze & Stefano Brusoni, 2022. "How dynamic capabilities change ordinary capabilities: Reconnecting attention control and problem‐solving," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(12), pages 2447-2477, December.
    2. Rafael Alcadipani, 2020. "Pandemic and macho organizations: Wake‐up call or business as usual?," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(5), pages 734-746, September.
    3. Bonnaud, Laure & Fortané, Nicolas, 2021. "Being a vet: the veterinary profession in social science research," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), vol. 102(1), April.
    4. Tripathi, Vinayak R. & Popli, Manish & Gaur, Ajai, 2022. "Spirituality meets science: Impact of founders’ imprint on healthcare practices for marginal communities in India," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 311-323.
    5. Alexis Laszczuk & Lionel Garreau, 2018. "Le Journal de Bord Sibyllique," Post-Print hal-01990906, HAL.
    6. Rashedur Chowdhury, 2023. "Misrepresentation of Marginalized Groups: A Critique of Epistemic Neocolonialism," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 186(3), pages 553-570, September.
    7. Theodore P. Lianos & Anastasia Pseiridis, 2021. "Adjusting GDP for ecological deficit: the Index of Debt to the Future (IDF)," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 1(3), pages 1-22, March.
    8. Anja Danner-Schröder & Daniel Geiger, 2016. "Unravelling the Motor of Patterning Work: Toward an Understanding of the Microlevel Dynamics of Standardization and Flexibility," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(3), pages 633-658, June.
    9. Krystin Zigan & Alan Le Grys, 2018. "Towards an Understanding of Social Responsibility Within the Church of England," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 535-560, May.
    10. Morlacchi, Piera & Nelson, Richard R., 2011. "How medical practice evolves: Learning to treat failing hearts with an implantable device," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 511-525, May.
    11. Bolzani, Daniela & Marabello, Selenia & Honig, Benson, 2020. "Exploring the multi-level processes of legitimacy in transnational social enterprises," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(3).
    12. Sakellariou, Evy & Karantinou, Kalipso & Goffin, Keith, 2021. "Video-ethnography during Covid-19 and beyond: Generating user foresights in a virtual world," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    13. Devi Vijay & Vivek G. Nair, 2022. "In the Name of Merit: Ethical Violence and Inequality at a Business School," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(2), pages 315-337, August.
    14. Emmanouela Mandalaki & Mar Pérezts, 2022. "It takes two to tango : Theorizing inter-corporeality through nakedness and eros in researching and writing organizations," Post-Print hal-02944194, HAL.
    15. Natalia Vershinina & Allan Discua Cruz, 2021. "Researching migrant entrepreneurship communities: a reflection through collaborative (auto)ethnographies," Post-Print hal-03275304, HAL.
    16. Rohit Varman & Per Skålén & Russell W. Belk & Himadri Roy Chaudhuri, 2021. "Normative Violence in Domestic Service: A Study of Exploitation, Status, and Grievability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(4), pages 645-665, July.
    17. Andrew Pendleton & Ben Lupton & Andrew Rowe & Richard Whittle, 2019. "Back to the Shop Floor: Behavioural Insights from Workplace Sociology," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 33(6), pages 1039-1057, December.
    18. Linda Tallberg & José-Carlos García-Rosell & Minni Haanpää, 2022. "Human–Animal Relations in Business and Society: Advancing the Feminist Interpretation of Stakeholder Theory," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(1), pages 1-16, September.
    19. Van Lancker, Evy & Knockaert, Mirjam & Collewaert, Veroniek & Breugst, Nicola, 2023. "Preparing for scaling: A study on founder role evolution," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 38(4).
    20. Bernard Cova & Gerald Gaglio & Juliette Weber & Philippe Chanial, 2018. "Organizational Sensemaking of Non-ethical Consumer Behavior: Case Study of a French Mutual Insurance Company," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(4), pages 783-799, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:176:y:2022:i:4:d:10.1007_s10551-020-04666-3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.