Titans of Industrial Agriculture
How a Few Giant Corporations Came to Dominate the Farm Sector and Why It Matters
Reeks: One Planet
Jennifer Clapp
- How
- a
- small
- handful
- of
- giant
- transnational
- corporations
- has
- come
- to
- dominate
- the
- farm
- inputs
- sector,
- why
- it
- matters,
- and
- what
- can
- be
- done
- about
- it.Every
- year,
- hundreds
- of
- billions
- of
- dollars’
- worth
- of
- farm
- machinery,
- fertilizer,
- seeds,
- and
- pesticides
- are
- sold
- to
- farmers
- around
- the
- world.
- Although
- agricultural
- inputs
- are
- a
- huge
- sector
- of
- the
- global
- economy,
- the
- lion’s
- share
- of
- that
- market
- is
- controlled
- by
- a
- relatively
- small
- number
- of
- very
- large
- transnational
- corporations.
- The
- high
- degree
- of
- concentration
- among
- these
- agribusiness
- titans
- is
- striking,
- considering
- that
- just
- a
- few
- hundred
- years
- ago
- agricultural
- inputs
- were
- not
- even
- marketed
- goods.
- In
- Titans
- of
- Industrial
- Agriculture,
- Jennifer
- Clapp
- explains
- how
- we
- got
- from
- there
- to
- here,
- outlining
- the
- forces
- that
- enabled
- this
- extreme
- concentration
- of
- power
- and
- the
- entrenchment
- of
- industrial
- agriculture.
Clapp
- reveals
- that
- the
- firms
- that
- rose
- to
- the
- top
- of
- these
- sectors
- benefited
- from
- distinct
- market,
- technology,
- and
- policy
- advantages
- dating
- back
- a
- century
- or
- more
- that
- enabled
- them
- to
- expand
- their
- businesses
- through
- mergers
- and
- acquisitions
- that
- made
- them
- even
- bigger
- and
- more
- powerful.
- These
- dynamics
- matter
- because
- the
- firms
- at
- the
- top
- have
- long
- shaped
- industrial
- farming
- practices
- that,
- in
- turn,
- have
- generated
- enormous
- social,
- ecological,
- and
- health
- impacts
- on
- the
- planet
- and
- the
- future
- of
- food
- systems.
- Beyond
- analyzing
- how
- these
- problems
- have
- arisen
- and
- manifested,
- the
- book
- examines
- recent
- efforts
- to
- address
- corporate
- power
- and
- dominance
- in
- food
- systems
- and
- assesses
- the
- prospects
- for
- change.Among
- the
- first
- works
- to
- examine
- deep
- roots
- of
- corporate
- power
- in
- agriculture,
- Titans
- of
- Industrial
- Agriculture
- helps
- illuminate
- just
- how
- corporate
- actors
- have
- encouraged
- the
- “lock-in”
- of
- industrial
- agriculture,
- despite
- all
- its
- known
- social
- and
- ecological costs.
