why do the wraith farm "their human flock" free range?

[slimjim]

under the wraith's current System they've got to fly light years to get to planets with maybe a few hindered people on them who they've got to send soldiers down to catch and subdue, they also have to go to the trouble of annihilating a significant number of their "crop" if they become technologically advanced which they where taking no active measures to prevent from happening in advanced for some reason.... but that's another issue, wouldn't it make more sense for the wraith to take a page from the Matrix and just grown cloned humans in tanks or something similar to that?

[Snowman37]

Wouldn't it make more sense to take away the stargate and give everyone everything they need? After generations, the numbers have grown, and thus the Wraith return. I don't think the writers thought of this.

[Flyboy]

under the wraith's current System they've got fly light years to get to planets with maybe a few hindered people on them who they've got to send soldiers down to catch and subdue, they also have to go to the trouble of annihilating a significant number of their "crop" if they become technologically advanced which they where taking no active measures to prevent from happening in advanced for some reason.... but that's another issue, wouldn't it make more sense for the wraith to take a page from the Matrix and just grown cloned humans in tanks or something similar to that?

Free-range chickens taste nicer than battery-farmed chickens.

[The Flyattractor]

You leave humans to themselves long enough and they will breed like rabbits no matter what is going on. And letting them have access to the gates would keep the humans from interbredding and such.
But yes. It would make more sence if the Wraith took more of a hands on approach in some things.

But I also think its kinda strange that the humans would know so much about the Wraith as how they have so little actual contact with each other.

[thekillman]

because the Wraith are either bio-hippies and like free-range food, or they are the worst farmers ever. well, i go for the latter option.

[Gen. Chris]

"Farming" would require "farmers"...Humans would eventually figure out how to get out unless there were plenty of "farmers" to keep track.

Of course, if they were tightly confined or even in pods, that wouldn't be too much of an issue

[thekillman]

"Farming" would require "farmers"...Humans would eventually figure out how to get out unless there were plenty of "farmers" to keep track.

if the Wraith made all gates into Space Gates, they would seriously confine humans.

if i were a wraith, i'd influence the local population, creating a society where sacrifice is accepted. i'd build a kind of pillar or something, that whisks away people. so the inhabitants are teached that they need to put their sacrifices in front of the pillar. a culling beam whisks them away, and teleports them to a beam buffer in space. the space buffer then transports the people through the gate to a Wraith world

[Lythisrose]

Until the expedition came to Pegasus there was no real need for the Wraith to invest in farming humans. Just leave them to their own devices while hibernating, wake up, cull a few worlds and knock a few others down to sustenance levels, have a bit of fun hunting the runners and then go back to sleep for a while. Minimal effort required. The humans pretty much did all the work of feeding and reproducing. It wasn't till humans started becoming scarce resources that it would make more sense to invest time and effort into farming. Plus, Wraith seem to like the sense of terror that the cullings induced.

[Arica15]

Common Agriculture Policy subsidies of course.

[garhkal]

True.. how they were doing things had worked for 1000s of years.. till we threw a wrench into the works.

[Rise Of The Phoenix]

Until the expedition came to Pegasus there was no real need for the Wraith to invest in farming humans. Just leave them to their own devices while hibernating, wake up, cull a few worlds and knock a few others down to sustenance levels, have a bit of fun hunting the runners and then go back to sleep for a while. Minimal effort required. The humans pretty much did all the work of feeding and reproducing. It wasn't till humans started becoming scarce resources that it would make more sense to invest time and effort into farming. Plus, Wraith seem to like the sense of terror that the cullings induced.

I have to agree with this.
No intervension was necessary (besides taking their food when they needed us) until they got woken up too soon.

[Kinetikat]

As Flyboy said... free range is tastier!
Also, as the Keeper pointed out to Sumner in Rising, Wraith have never needed their food to agree with them I seriously doubt they would ever take into account emotional and mental strain in their 'flock'.

[The Flyattractor]

And if a few centuries go by between cullings i would think that would help a society to deal with the shell shock.

[Hagazussa]

Free-range chickens taste nicer than battery-farmed chickens.

Good point.

I can think of a few reasons why the Wraith do what they do. One is that they are predetorial, they want to hunt down their pray, if they just had human farms they would get out of training. Also the Wraith live on their ships, they are already traveling around so it is not to much of an issue to go and fetch humans. Also allot of farming is done in similar ways, both sheep and bovine are often let loose to walk around as they please until the winter comes and they are herded together again, this saves costs in tending them as they will find their own food and yes it makes the animals taste better, why should not the same be true of humans?

[Kinetikat]

I agree with Hagazussa - the strongly predatory nature of the Wraith as a species would dictate that they 'hunt' rather than 'farm'.