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Mega-Mergers on the Menu: Corporate Concentration and the Politics of Sustainability in the Global Food System

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  • Jennifer Clapp

Abstract

The agricultural input industry has become more concentrated in the wake of recently announced corporate mergers in the sector. This article examines the environmental implications of corporate concentration in the agricultural input sector and outlines the challenges of establishing effective international policy and governance on this issue. The article makes two arguments. First, corporate concentration matters for food system sustainability. Consolidation in the global seed and agro-chemical industries has been deeply entwined with the rise of industrial agriculture, which has been associated with a host of environmental problems including an increase in agro-chemical use and the loss of agricultural biodiversity. Second, although corporate concentration has important sustainability implications, there is little recognition of the potential connection between these issues in international governance measures. The article outlines a number of factors that discourage the development of policy and governance on these issues, including the lack of a clear scientific consensus on how best to promote sustainable agriculture; the weak and fragmented nature of regulatory frameworks and institutions that oversee competition policy and food system sustainability; the power of agribusiness firms to influence policy outcomes; and the complex and distanced nature of the underlying drivers of corporate concentration in the sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Jennifer Clapp, 2018. "Mega-Mergers on the Menu: Corporate Concentration and the Politics of Sustainability in the Global Food System," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 18(2), pages 12-33, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:glenvp:v:18:y:2018:i:2:p:12-33
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    Cited by:

    1. de Vries, Jasper R. & Turner, James A. & Finlay-Smits, Susanna & Ryan, Alyssa & Klerkx, Laurens, 2022. "Trust in agri-food value chains: a systematic review," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 26(2), November.
    2. Analena B. Bruce & Yetkin Borlu & Leland L. Glenna, 2023. "Assessing the scientific support for U.S. EPA pesticide regulatory policy governing active and inert ingredients," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 13(1), pages 1-13, March.
    3. Carla Johnston & Andrew Spring, 2021. "Grassroots and Global Governance: Can Global–Local Linkages Foster Food System Resilience for Small Northern Canadian Communities?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-17, February.
    4. Jennifer Clapp & Indra Noyes & Zachary Grant, 2021. "The Food Systems Summit’s Failure to Address Corporate Power," Development, Palgrave Macmillan;Society for International Deveopment, vol. 64(3), pages 192-198, December.
    5. Helmut Breitmeier & Sandra Schwindenhammer & Andrés Checa & Jacob Manderbach & Magdalena Tanzer, 2021. "Aligned Sustainability Understandings? Global Inter-Institutional Arrangements and the Implementation of SDG 2," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(1), pages 141-151.
    6. Julia Francesca Wünsche & Fredrik Fernqvist, 2022. "The Potential of Blockchain Technology in the Transition towards Sustainable Food Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-15, June.
    7. Karolis Andriuškevičius & Dalia Štreimikienė, 2022. "Sustainability Framework for Assessment of Mergers and Acquisitions in Energy Sector," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-20, June.
    8. Fanzo, Jessica & Haddad, Lawrence & Schneider, Kate R. & Béné, Christophe & Covic, Namukolo M. & Guarin, Alejandro & Herforth, Anna W. & Herrero, Mario & Sumaila, U. Rashid & Aburto, Nancy J. & Amuyun, 2021. "Viewpoint: Rigorous monitoring is necessary to guide food system transformation in the countdown to the 2030 global goals," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    9. Maywa Montenegro de Wit & Matt Canfield & Alastair Iles & Molly Anderson & Nora McKeon & Shalmali Guttal & Barbara Gemmill-Herren & Jessica Duncan & Jan Douwe Ploeg & Stefano Prato, 2021. "Editorial: Resetting Power in Global Food Governance: The UN Food Systems Summit," Development, Palgrave Macmillan;Society for International Deveopment, vol. 64(3), pages 153-161, December.
    10. Dona Azizi, 2020. "Access and allocation in food governance, a decadal view 2008–2018," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 323-338, June.
    11. Jennifer Clapp & Sarah-Louise Ruder, 2020. "Precision Technologies for Agriculture: Digital Farming, Gene-EditedCrops, and the Politics of Sustainability," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 20(3), pages 49-69, August.
    12. Sonali Shukla McDermid & Matthew Hayek & Dale W. Jamieson & Galina Hale & David Kanter, 2023. "Research needs for a food system transition," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 176(4), pages 1-15, April.
    13. Caroline Hambloch & Kai Mausch & Costanza Conti & Andy Hall, 2023. "Simple solutions for complex problems? What is missing in agriculture for nutrition interventions," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(2), pages 363-379, April.
    14. Dona Azizi, 0. "Access and allocation in food governance, a decadal view 2008–2018," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-16.
    15. Thais González-Torres & José-Luis Rodríguez-Sánchez & Eva Pelechano-Barahona & Fernando E. García-Muiña, 2020. "A Systematic Review of Research on Sustainability in Mergers and Acquisitions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-18, January.

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