IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/agrhuv/v38y2021i3d10.1007_s10460-020-10161-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Digitalization and the third food regime

Author

Listed:
  • Louisa Prause

    (Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin)

  • Sarah Hackfort

    (Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin)

  • Margit Lindgren

    (Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin)

Abstract

This article asks how the application of digital technologies is changing the organization of the agri-food system in the context of the third food regime. The academic debate on digitalization and food largely focuses on the input and farm level. Yet, based on the analysis of 280 digital services and products, we show that digital technologies are now being used along the entire food commodity chain. We argue that digital technologies in the third food regime serve on the one hand as a continuation of established information and communication technologies, thus deepening certain features of the existing food regime such as the retail sector’s control over global commodity chains. On the other hand, digital technologies also introduce new forms of control and value extraction based on the use of data and pave the way for large tech companies to take over market shares in the agri-food sector. Finally, we find that multinational agri-food companies are starting to take on the business models of leading digital tech companies, for instance by developing digital platforms throughout the agri-food system. We argue that this shows that the broader economic restructuring of neoliberal capitalism towards digital capitalism is also making its way into the agri-food system.

Suggested Citation

  • Louisa Prause & Sarah Hackfort & Margit Lindgren, 2021. "Digitalization and the third food regime," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(3), pages 641-655, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:38:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s10460-020-10161-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-020-10161-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10460-020-10161-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10460-020-10161-2?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carbonell, Isabelle M., 2016. "The ethics of big data in big agriculture," Internet Policy Review: Journal on Internet Regulation, Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG), Berlin, vol. 5(1), pages 1-13.
    2. Wolfert, Sjaak & Ge, Lan & Verdouw, Cor & Bogaardt, Marc-Jeroen, 2017. "Big Data in Smart Farming – A review," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 69-80.
    3. Jane Dixon, 1999. "A cultural economy model for studying food systems," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 16(2), pages 151-160, June.
    4. Michael Carolan, 2020. "Acting like an algorithm: digital farming platforms and the trajectories they (need not) lock-in," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(4), pages 1041-1053, December.
    5. Marie-Agnes Jouanjean, 2019. "Digital Opportunities for Trade in the Agriculture and Food Sectors," OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Papers 122, OECD Publishing.
    6. Beate Friedrich & Sarah Hackfort & Miriam Boyer & Daniela Gottschlich, 2019. "Conflicts over GMOs and their Contribution to Food Democracy," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(4), pages 165-177.
    7. Nick Bernards, 2019. "The poverty of fintech? Psychometrics, credit infrastructures, and the limits of financialization," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(5), pages 815-838, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ehlers, Melf-Hinrich & Finger, Robert & El Benni, Nadja & Gocht, Alexander & Sørensen, Claus Aage Grøn & Gusset, Markus & Pfeifer, Catherine & Poppe, Krijn & Regan, Áine & Rose, David Christian & Wolf, 2022. "Scenarios for European agricultural policymaking in the era of digitalisation," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    2. Mascha Gugganig & Karly Ann Burch & Julie Guthman & Kelly Bronson, 2023. "Contested agri-food futures: Introduction to the Special Issue," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(3), pages 787-798, September.
    3. Julie Guthman & Michaelanne Butler, 2023. "Fixing food with a limited menu: on (digital) solutionism in the agri-food tech sector," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(3), pages 835-848, September.
    4. Hilary Oliva Faxon, 2023. "Small farmers, big tech: agrarian commerce and knowledge on Myanmar Facebook," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(3), pages 897-911, September.
    5. Suresh Neethirajan, 2023. "SOLARIA-SensOr-driven resiLient and adaptive monitoRIng of farm Animals," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-19, February.
    6. Nawab Khan & Ram L. Ray & Hazem S. Kassem & Sajjad Hussain & Shemei Zhang & Muhammad Khayyam & Muhammad Ihtisham & Simplice A. Asongu, 2021. "Potential Role of Technology Innovation in Transformation of Sustainable Food Systems: A Review," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-20, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hidalgo, Francisco & Quiñones-Ruiz, Xiomara F. & Birkenberg, Athena & Daum, Thomas & Bosch, Christine & Hirsch, Patrick & Birner, Regina, 2023. "Digitalization, sustainability, and coffee. Opportunities and challenges for agricultural development," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    2. Sarah Hackfort, 2021. "Patterns of Inequalities in Digital Agriculture: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-18, November.
    3. Nesrein M. Hashem & Eman M. Hassanein & Jean-François Hocquette & Antonio Gonzalez-Bulnes & Fayrouz A. Ahmed & Youssef A. Attia & Khalid A. Asiry, 2021. "Agro-Livestock Farming System Sustainability during the COVID-19 Era: A Cross-Sectional Study on the Role of Information and Communication Technologies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-24, June.
    4. Ingram, Julie & Maye, Damian & Bailye, Clive & Barnes, Andrew & Bear, Christopher & Bell, Matthew & Cutress, David & Davies, Lynfa & de Boon, Auvikki & Dinnie, Liz & Gairdner, Julian & Hafferty, Caitl, 2022. "What are the priority research questions for digital agriculture?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    5. Emily Duncan & Alesandros Glaros & Dennis Z. Ross & Eric Nost, 2021. "New but for whom? Discourses of innovation in precision agriculture," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(4), pages 1181-1199, December.
    6. Mark Ryan & Josephina Antoniou & Laurence Brooks & Tilimbe Jiya & Kevin Macnish & Bernd Stahl, 2020. "The Ethical Balance of Using Smart Information Systems for Promoting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-22, June.
    7. Ayorinde Ogunyiola & Maaz Gardezi, 2022. "Restoring sense out of disorder? Farmers’ changing social identities under big data and algorithms," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(4), pages 1451-1464, December.
    8. Cornelius Heimstädt, 2023. "Making plant pathology algorithmically recognizable," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(3), pages 865-878, September.
    9. Katrin Martens & Jana Zscheischler, 2022. "The Digital Transformation of the Agricultural Value Chain: Discourses on Opportunities, Challenges and Controversial Perspectives on Governance Approaches," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-15, March.
    10. Claire Brown & Áine Regan & Simone van der Burg, 2023. "Farming futures: Perspectives of Irish agricultural stakeholders on data sharing and data governance," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(2), pages 565-580, June.
    11. Newton, Joanna E. & Nettle, Ruth & Pryce, Jennie E., 2020. "Farming smarter with big data: Insights from the case of Australia's national dairy herd milk recording scheme," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    12. Louisa Prause, 2021. "Digital Agriculture and Labor: A Few Challenges for Social Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-14, May.
    13. Lioutas, Evagelos D. & Charatsari, Chrysanthi, 2020. "Smart farming and short food supply chains: Are they compatible?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    14. Annie Royer & Nathalie de Marcellis-Warin & Ingrid Peignier & Thierry Warin & Molivann Panot & Christophe Mondin, 2020. "Les enjeux du numérique dans le secteur agricole - Défis et opportunités," CIRANO Project Reports 2020rp-12, CIRANO.
    15. Lin Xie & Biliang Luo & Wenjing Zhong, 2021. "How Are Smallholder Farmers Involved in Digital Agriculture in Developing Countries: A Case Study from China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-16, March.
    16. Oliver Falck & Johannes Koenen, 2020. "Rohstoff „Daten“: Volkswirtschaflicher Nutzen von Datenbereitstellung – eine Bestandsaufnahme," ifo Forschungsberichte, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 113, October.
    17. Ascui, Francisco & Ball, Alex & Kahn, Lewis & Rowe, James, 2021. "Is operationalising natural capital risk assessment practicable?," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    18. Pigford, Ashlee-Ann E. & Hickey, Gordon M. & Klerkx, Laurens, 2018. "Beyond agricultural innovation systems? Exploring an agricultural innovation ecosystems approach for niche design and development in sustainability transitions," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 116-121.
    19. Tianyu Qin & Lijun Wang & Yanxin Zhou & Liyue Guo & Gaoming Jiang & Lei Zhang, 2022. "Digital Technology-and-Services-Driven Sustainable Transformation of Agriculture: Cases of China and the EU," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-16, February.
    20. McGrath, Karen & Brown, Claire & Regan, Áine & Russell, Tomás, 2023. "Investigating narratives and trends in digital agriculture: A scoping study of social and behavioural science studies," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:38:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s10460-020-10161-2. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.