The areas of East Africa are one of the most affected by corporate farming.

Among critics of large-scale, industrialized, vertically integrated food production, the term agribusiness is used negatively, synonymous with corporate farming.

And it attacks Minnesota's Corporate Farm Law, which prohibits corporate farming.

Economists have a mixed view about the power of laws intended to stop corporate farming.

Nebraska has kept the hog factories out by banning all corporate farming.

The alliance has moved into Western states but has had less impact in the Midwest because of laws opposing corporate farming.

"They are large corporate ventures that attempt to influence state legislatures to eliminate environmental, corporate farming and zoning laws."

They also criticized the favoritism showed for corporate farming and demanded protection for poor small farmers.

But what about a bigger industry, the Irish beef industry, which will not be allowed to stand in the way of global corporate farming either?

Any time you go to the people and ask them what they want," Ms. Thompson said, "in every instance they say they don't want corporate farming.