There is a natural distrust of any kind of “big” industry. You can tell by the way that critics will refer to it as “Big _____” — Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Banks. It’s too corporate, too corrupt, too untrustworthy. On the other hand, smaller companies are held up as examples of everything that is good: family owned, caring, honest.
Of course, neither of these things is absolutely true. There are good and bad companies regardless of where you look in the business world. I’ve seen news stories about small companies found guilty of breaking laws or shirking their duties. Likewise, most if not all of the largest meat and poultry processors in the country donate to numerous charities. Instead of “Big Meat” versus “Small Meat,” the reality is more like “Good Meat” versus “Bad Meat.” The noteworthy companies, whatever their yearly sales figures, need to be held up as models of the industry, and the rule-breakers need to be put out of business before they cause further consumer distrust.