Commodification is once again a dominant theme to capitalism. Should regulatory capitalism embrace or resist commodification? As a gauge, the paper examines recent experience with the claims that small-scale farming is strengthened through the sympathetic commodification of traditional knowledge, carbon storage and financial futures. It finds that each claim shows a little promise, but finally it seems that the commodity form cannot fully represent these strengths. Socio-legal research should understand how law constructs commodities, but it should also explore how law might sustain relationships.