In developing countries, livestock are commonly kept as a "low risk savings account". Such livestock are tethered sheep, goats or cattle that are fed roadside forage, wastes and purchased concentrates. Alternatively they are pigs and fowl, kept in an enclosure or not enclosed, that forage through the local landscape, as well as being fed scraps and purchased feed. In many cases, the gain of food from the meat when the animal is finally slaughtered is not much greater, if at all, than if the money to buy concentrates for the livestock had been spent directly on food for the family. Using money to feed livestock this way has been described by sociologists as equivalent to putting it in a low risk bank account because a sudden inflationary trend will not endanger the accumulated capital. There are also other benefits and cultural reasons for the practice.