Has the author ever met a farmer? You don't get sheep and cows to give birth without getting elbow (or shoulder) deep sometimes. People know how this stuff works and have for a very very long time.
- "an active process of aid" etc. Trying to describe simple or obvious things using vague language with a sort of "conceptual" flavor or affectation. It reminds me a little bit of the "translation" of Ecclesiastes in Orwell's Politics and the English Language but it also has its own distinct flavor. The French are probably to blame, somehow.
edit: Blah blah blah Foucault a few paragraphs in. You can't make this shit up
And from there it runs downhill to the rats living in the bilge of the comments section.
I can't recall the number of times I've heard some simple concept churched up with all manner of 7-10 letter adjectives in an effort to sound sophisticated.